]OHN  MUIR 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

♦ 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


^p  3foi)n  iHttir 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN.   Illustrated. 

A  THOUSAND  MILE  WALK  TO  THE  GULF. 

Illustrated. 
TRAVELS  IN  ALASKA.     Illustrated. 

THE     STORY     OF      MY     BOYHOOD     AND 
YOUTH.    Illustrated. 

MY  FIRST  SUMMER  IN  THE  SIERRA    Illus- 

trated. 
STICKEEN  :  The  Story  of  a  Dog. 

OUR  NATIONAL  PARKS.    Illustrated  Holiday 
Edition. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
Boston  akd  New  York 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/cruiseofcorwinjoOOmuirrich 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE 
CORWIN 

Journal  of  the  Arctic  Expedition 

of  1881  in  search  of  De  Long 

and  the  Jeannette 

BY 

John  Muir 

EDITED  BY 
WILLIAM  FREDERIC  BADE 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
1917 


COPYRIGHT,    1917,   BY  HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVBD 

Published  November  iqi'j 


n^o-^-3 


Contents 


Introduction      .      .      .      ;      . 
I.  Unalaska  and  the  Aleuts 
II.  Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

III.  Siberian  Adventures 

IV.  In  Peril  from  the  Pack      . 
V.  A  Chukchi  Orator  .... 

VI.  Eskimos  and  Walrus     . 
VII.  At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 
VIII.  Return  of  the  Search  Party  . 
IX.  Villages  of  the  Dead  . 
X.  Glimpses  of  Alaskan  Tundra  . 
XL  Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 
XII.  Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

XIII.  First  Ascent  of  Herald  Island 

XIV.  Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 
XV.  The  Land  of  the  White  Bear 

XVI.  Tragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

XVII.  Meeting  the  Point  Barrow  Expedition 

[  V] 


3 

i8 
30 

44 
52 
62 
72 
85 
99 
112 
126 

138 
149 

158 
169 
184 
197 


(^Ments 


XVIII.  A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd       .      .      .      .      .  205 

XIX.  Turned  back  by  Storms  and  Ice    .      .      .      .217 

XX.  Homeward-Bound 224 

APPENDIX 

I.  The  Glaciation  of  the  Arctic  and  Subarctic 
•    Regions  visited  during  the  Cruise        .      .235 

II.  Botanical  Notes .  259 

INDEX 273 


Illustrations 


Cape  Serdzekamen,  Siberia frontispiece 

From  a  photograph 

Iliuliuk,  Unalaska         6 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

Aleut  Barabara  at  Iliuliuk,  Unalaska     ....     14 
From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

Cliffs  at  St.  Matthew  Island 24 

From  a  photograph 

Chukchi  Village  at  Plover  Bay,  Siberia        ...    32 
From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

West  Diomede  Village 36 

Siberian  Village  on  a  Sand-Spit 52 

From  a  photograph 

Chukchis  and  a  Summer  House  at  Plover  Bay    .      .    76 
From  a  photograph  by  E.  W.  Nelson 

Chukchis  At  Indian  Point,  Siberia  (Cape  Chaplin)    .  106 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  W.  Nelson 

Arctic  Tundra 116 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

Herald  Island 150 

First  Landing  on  Wrangell  Land 170 

The  American  Flag  on  Wrangell  Land,  near  East 
Cape 174 

Map  of  Wrangell  Land,  as  surveyed  by  the  Officers  of 
the  U.S.S.  Rodgers,  Lieut.  R.  M.  Berry  Command- 
ing, September,  1881  180 

From  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1881 

Eskimo  Village  of  Kokmulit,  Point  Barrow         .      •  188 

[  vii  ] 


Illustrations 


A  Chukchi  Summer  House  at  Plover  Bay       .      .      .210 
From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

One  of  the  Mouths  of  the  Fairweather  Ice-Sheet  in 
Glacier  Bay 238 

King  Island 242 

Granite  Rocks  on  the  South  Side  of  St.  Lawrence 
Island,  showing  Effects  of  Oversweeping  Action 
of  Ice-Sheet 242 

Volcanic  Cones  on  St.  Lawrence  Island  ....  246 

Bed  of  Small  Residual  Glacier  on  St.  Lawrence 
Island 246 

Herald  Island 246 

West  Diomede  Island  (from  the  North)  .      .      .  248 

East  Cape  (from  the  South) 248 

Overswept  Glacial  Valleys  and  Ridges  on  St.  Law- 
rence Island 250 

Bed  of  Local  Glacier,  St.  Lawrence  Island  .      .      .  250 

Near  the  Southwest  Extremity  of  St.  Lawrence  Island, 

ILLUSTRATING   EFFECTS    OF   IcE-ShEET 254 

Overswept  Mountains,  with  Parallel  Valleys  and 
Ridges,  from  Twenty  Miles  northwest  of  East  Cape  254 


Except  as  otherwise  indicated  the  illustrations  are  from  sketches  by 
Mr.  Muir,  the  last  twelve  being  reproduced  from  the  cuts  in  Captain 
Hooper's  official  Report  of  the  expedition. 

The  title-page  cut  is  from  Mr.  Muir's  drawing  of  Erigeron  Muirii, 
a  plant  discovered  by  him  near  Cape  Thompson  in  northwestern 
Alaska  and  named  for  him  by  the  botanist  Asa  Gray.  This  cut  ap- 
peared in  Captain  Hooper's  Report. 

The  half-tone  of  the  Corwin  which  appears  on  the  cover  is  from  a 
painting  by  Deimy. 


Introduction 


ONE  of  the  poignant  tragedies  of  north  polar 
exploration,  that  of  the  Jeannette,  still  lin- 
gers in  the  memory  of  persons  now  living,  though 
a:  generation  has  since  passed  away.  John  Muir, 
who  joined  the  first  search  expedition  dispatched 
from  San  Francisco,  had  already  achieved  distinc- 
tion by  his  glacial  studies  in  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  in  Alaska.  The  Corwin  expedition  afforded 
him  a  coveted  opportunity  to  cruise  among  the 
islands  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  to 
visit  the  frost-bitten  shores  of  northeastern  Siberia 
and  northwestern  Alaska.  So  enticing  was  the  lure 
of  this  new  adventure,  so  eager  was  he  to  study  the 
evidence  of  glaciation  in  the  Far  North,  that  he 
said  a  reluctant  good-bye  to  his  young  wife  and 
fared  forth  upon  the  deep.  "You  remember,"  he 
wrote  to  her  from  the  Siberian  coast,  "that  I  told 
you  long  ago  how  eager  I  was  to  get  upon  those 
islands  in  the  middle  of  the  Bering  Sea  and  Strait 
to  read  the  ice  record  there." 

The  events  which  led  up  to  this  memorable 
cruise  of  the  Corwin  in  1881  had  their  origin  in  the 
widespread  interest  which  north  polar  exploration 
was  exciting  at  this  time  all  over  the  world.  In  1877 

[ix] 


Introduction 

Lieutenant  George  W.  De  Long,  an  American 
naval  officer,  was  searching  among  the  northern 
ports  of  England  for  a  whaling  vessel  adapted  to 
the  requirements  of  Arctic  exploration.  De  Long 
had  commanded  the  Juniata  which  was  sent  out 
for  the  relief  of  the  Polaris,  and  through  this  experi- 
ence had  grown  enthusiastic  over  his  own  plans 
for  reaching  the  North  Pole. 

The  whaling  industry  was  at  that  time  a  very 
profitable  one,  and  few  owners  of  whalers  and  seal- 
ers were  willing  to  part  with  their  vessels.  Though 
Sir  Allen  Young's  steam  yacht  Pandora,  which 
De  Long  finally  selected,  had  already  made  two 
Arctic  voyages,  she  appears  to  have  been  chosen 
more  because  she  was  available  than  because  of 
her  superior  fitness  for  ice  navigation.  In  any  case 
she  was  purchased  by  James  Gordon  Bennett, 
patron  of  the  proposed  expedition,  was  fitted  out 
at  Deptford,  England,  and  re-named  the  Jean- 
nette.i  Though  the  new  name  evaded  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  box  of  evils,  she  proved  to  be  one  for  those 
who  sailed  in  her.  Commander  De  Long  himself 
brought  her  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco. 
In  the  month  of  July,  1879,  she  sailed  from  that 
port  for  Bering  Strait  and  the  Arctic  Ocean  — 
never  to  return.  Crushed  in  the  ice,  she  sank, 
June  12,  1881,  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  north  of  the  New  Siberian  Is- 
lands. 

[x] 


Introduction 

The  retreat  southward  across  the  ice-floes  was 
one  of  great  peril.  Only  thirteen  out  of  thirty-four 
men  ultimately  reached  civilization  and  safety. 
De  Long  himself,  and  ten  of  the  men  with  him, 
died  of  starvation  and  exposure  on  the  delta  of  the 
Lena  River,  where  two  of  the  Jeannette's  storm- 
beaten  cutters  landed  in  the  middle  of  September, 
1 88 1.  One  of  them,  commanded  by  Chief  Engineer 
Melville,  reached  a  Russian  village  on  one  of  the 
eastern  mouths  of  the  Lena  River.  He  promptly 
organized  a  search  party,  recovering  the  ship's 
records  in  November,  1881,  and  the  bodies  of  his 
unfortunate  shipmates  the  following  spring. 
'  When  the  North  Pacific  whaling  fleet  returned 
from  Arctic  waters  in  the  autumn  of  1879,  two 
ships,  the  Mount  WoUaston  and  the  Vigilant,  were 
reported  missing.  They  had  been  last  seen  in 
October  in  the  same  general  region,  near  Herald 
Island,  where  the  Jeanne tte  had  entered  the  polar 
ice.  The  Mount  WoUaston  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Nye,  of  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  one 
of  the  keenest  and  bravest  men  that  ever  sailed  the 
frigid  seas.  He  it  was  who  at  a  conference  of  whal- 
ing captains,  called  by  De  Long  in  San  Francisco 
before  the  departure  of  his  expedition,  hesitated  to 
give  an  opinion  on  the  practicability  of  De  Long's 
plans.  But  when  urged  for  an  expression  of  his 
views,  he  said,  "Put  her  [the  Jeannette]  into  the 
ice  and  let  her  drift,  and  you  may  get  through,  or 

[xi] 


Introduction 

you  may  go  to  the  devil,  and  the  chances  are  about 
equal." 

In  the  service  of  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department  there  was  at  this  time  a  stanch  little 
steamer  called  the  Corwin.  Built  at  Abina,  Ore- 
gon, she  was  constructed  throughout  of  the  finest 
Oregon  fir,  fastened  with  copper,  galvanized  iron, 
and  locust-tree  nails.  She  had  a  draught  of  nearly 
eleven  feet,  twenty-four  feet  beam,  and  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet  long  between  per- 
pendiculars. The  ordinary  duties  of  the  captain 
of  such  a  revenue  steamer  involved  primarily  the 
enforcement  of  federal  laws  for  the  protection  of 
governmental  interests  on  the  Fur  Seal  Islands  and 
the  sea-otter  hunting  grounds  of  Alaska.  But  the 
supposed  plight  of  the  Jeannette  and  the  unknown 
fate  of  two  whalers  caught  in  the  ice  were  soon 
to  increase  the  Corwin's  duties,  and  call  her  into 
regions  where  her  sturdy  sailing  qualities  were  to 
prove  of  the  utmost  importance. 

In  the  spring  of  1880  the  Corwin,  in  command  of 
Captain  Calvin  L.  Hooper,  was  ordered  into  North 
Alaskan  waters  in  pursuance  of  her  regular  duties. 
But  Captain  Hooper  had  also  been  directed  to 
make  all  possible  inquiries  for  the  missing  whalers 
and  the  Jeannette.  He  returned  with  no  tidings  of 
the  lost,  but  with  reports  of  starvation  and  death 
among  the  Eskimos  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  on 
account  of  an  uncommonly  severe  and  stormy  win- 

[  xii  ] 


Introduction 

ter  in  the  Arctic  regions.  He  entertained  no  hope 
for  the  lost  whalers,  but  thought  De  Long  and  his 
party  might  be  safe. 

A  general  demand  for  relief  expeditions  now 
arose.  Petitions  poured  into  Congress,  and  the 
American  Geographical  Society  addressed  a  forci- 
ble appeal  to  President  Garfield.  When  the  Cor- 
win  was  sent  to  Alaskan  waters  again  in  1881  it 
was  with  the  following  specific  instructions  to 
Captain  Hooper: 

No  information  having  been  received  concerning 
the  whalers  Mount  Wollaston  and  Vigilant,  you  will 
bear  in  mind  the  instructions  for  your  cruise  of  last 
year,  and  it  is  hoped  you  may  bring  back  some  tid- 
ings of  the  missing  vessels.  You  will  also  make  care- 
ful inquiries  in  the  Arctic  regarding  the  progress  and 
whereabouts  of  the  steamer  Jeannette,  engaged  in 
making  explorations  under  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Commander  De  Long,  U.S.N.,  and  will,  if  practicable, 
communicate  with  and  extend  any  needed  assistance 
to  that  vessel.  .  .  .  You  will  in  your  season's  cruise 
touch  at  such  places  as  may  be  practicable  on  the 
mainland  or  islands  where  there  are  settlements  of 
natives,  and  examine  into  and  report  upon  their 
condition. 

A  letter  written  to  his  mother  from  Dutch  Har- 
bor, Unalaska,  gives  Muir's  own  account  of  his 
purpose  in  joining  the  expedition. 

I  wrote  you  from  San  Francisco  [he  says]  that  I 
had  suddenly  made  up  my  mind  to  avail  myself  of 
the  opportunity  offered  to  visit  the  Arctic  region  on 

[  xiii  ] 


Introduction 

the  steamer  Thomas  Corwin  sent  to  seek  the  Jean- 
nette  and  the  missing  whalers  that  were  lost  in  the 
ice  two  years  ago  off  Point  Barrow.  .  .  . 

I  have  been  interested  for  a  long  time  in  the  glaci- 
ation  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  I  felt  that  I  must 
make  a  trip  of  this  sort  to  the  Far  North  some  time, 
and  no  better  chance  could  in  any  probability  offer. 
I  am  acquainted  with  our  captain,  and  have  every 
comfort  the  ship  can  afford,  and  every  facility  to 
pursue  my  studies. 

We  mean  to  proceed  from  here  past  the  seal  islands 
St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  then  northward  along  the 
Siberian  coast  to  about  Cape  Serdze,  where  a  sledge 
party  with  dogs  will  be  sent  out  to  search  the  North 
Siberian  coast,  while  the  steamer  the  meanwhile  will 
cross  to  the  American  shore  and  call  at  St.  Michael, 
Kotzebue  Sound,  and  other  places,  [where  we  shall 
have  the  opportunity  of]  making  short  journeys  in- 
land. Then,  as  the  ice  melts  and  breaks  up,  we  will 
probably  push  eastward  around  Point  Barrow,  then 
return  to  the  Siberian  side  to  pick  up  our  land  party, 
then  endeavor  to  push  through  the  ice  to  the  mysteri- 
ous unexplored  Wrangell  Land.  We  hope  to  return 
to  San  Francisco  by  October  or  November,  but  may 
possibly  be  compelled  to  winter  in  the  Arctic  some- 
where. 

De  Long,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  had  written  that 
his  plan  was  to  proceed  north  by  the  eastern  coast 
of  Wrangell  Land,  touching  first  at  Herald  Island 
to  build  a  cairn  and  leave  news  of  the  Jeannette's 
progress.  Believing  that  Wrangell  Land  extended 
northward  toward  the  Pole,  he  proposed  to  leave 
similar  records  along  its  eastern  coast,  under  cairns, 

[  xiv  ] 


Introduction 

at  intervals  of  twenty-five  miles.  These  known 
intentions  of  De  Long  show  why  it  was  one  of  the 
foremost  objects  of  the  Corwin  expedition  to  reach 
what  Muir  called  "the  mysterious  unexplored 
Wrangell  Land." 

How  keenly  Muir  appreciated  the  possibilities 
of  science  and  adventure  in  the  exploration  of  this 
unknown  Arctic  land  may  be  seen  in  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  this  volume.  Up  to  this  time  nothing 
was  actually  known  about  Wrangell  Land  except 
its  existence.  The  first  European  who  reported  its 
discovery  was  Captain  Kellett  of  H.M.S.  Herald. 
He  saw  it  in  1849  when  he  discovered  Herald 
Island,  which  was  named  after  his  vessel.  By  right 
of  discovery  Kellett's  name  should  have  been  given 
to  Wrangell  Land,  and  upon  British  Admiralty 
charts  it  was  very  properly  indicated  as  "Kellett 
Land." 

The  name  Wrangell  Land,  it  seems,  became  asso- 
ciated with  the  island  through  a  report  of  Captain 
Thomas  Long,  of  the  whaling  bark  Nile.  In  1867 
he  reported  that  he  had 

sailed  to  the  eastward  along  the  land  during  the 
fifteenth  and  part  of  the  sixteenth  [of  August],  and 
in  some  places  approached  it  as  near  as  fifteen  miles. 
I  have  named  this  northern  land  Wrangell  Land  [he 
says]  as  an  appropriate  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a 
man  who  spent  three  consecutive  years  north  of 
latitude  68°,  and  demonstrated  the  problem  of  this 
open  polar  sea  forty-five  years  ago,  although  others 

[XV] 


Introduction 

of  much  later  date  have  endeavored  to  claim  the 
merit  of  this  discovery.  The  west  cape  of  this  land 
I  have  named  Cape  Thomas,  after  the  man  who  first 
reported  the  land  from  the  masthead  of  my  ship, 
and  the  southeastern  cape  I  have  named  after  the 
largest  island  in  this  group  [Hawaii]. ^ 

Captain  Long  apparently  was  unaware  of  the 
fact  that  the  island  already  bore  the  name  of 
Kellett  by  right  of  discovery  eighteen  years  earlier. 
But  since  Baron  Wrangell  had  made  such  a  brave 
and  determined  search  for  this  "problematical  land 
of  the  North,"  as  he  referred  to  it  in  his  final  re- 
port, there  is  a  certain  poetic  justice  in  applying 
his  name  to  what  he  only  sought,  but  never  found. 

While  Captain  Hooper,  in  his  report  of  1880, 
had  expressed  the  conviction  that  Wrangell  Land 
was  an  island,  the  first  demonstration  of  its  insu- 
larity was  made  by  Commander  De  Long,  who 
had  practically  staked  the  success  of  his  expedition 
on  the  belief  that  it  was  a  country  of  large  extent 
northward,  and  suitable  for  winter  quarters.  But 
before  his  vessel  was  crushed  in  the  ice  it  drifted, 
within  sight  of  Wrangell  Land,  directly  across  the 
meridians  between  which  It  lies.  This  fatal  drift 
of  the  Jeannette  not  only  furnished  conclusive 
disproof  of  the  theory  that  Wrangell  Land  might 

*  Quoted  from  a  letter  by  Captain  Long  published  in  the 
Honolulu  Commercial  Advertiser^  November,  1867.  The  same 
paper  contains  a  letter  from  Captain  George  W.  Raynor,  of  the 
ship  Reindeer,  giving  additional  geographic  details. 

[  xvi  ] 


Introduction 

be  part  of  a  continent  stretching  across  the  north 
polar  regions,  but  proved  it  to  be  an  island  of  lim- 
ited extent.  It  is  an  inaccuracy,  therefore,  when 
the  United  States  Hydrographer's  report  for  1882 
sets  the  establishment  of  this  fact  down  to  the 
credit  of  the  Rodgers  expedition. 

So  far  as  known,  the  first  human  beings  that  ever 
stood  upon  the  shores  of  this  island  were  in  Cap- 
tain Hooper's  landing  party,  August  12,  1881,  and 
John  Muir  was  of  the  number.  The  earliest  news 
of  the  event,  and  of  the  fact  that  De  Long  had 
not  succeeded  in  touching  either  Herald  Island  or 
Wrangell  Land,  reached  the  world  at  large  in  a 
letter  from  Muir  published  in  the  San  Francisco 
Evening  Bulletin^  September  29,  1881.  But  the 
complete  record  of  Muir's  observations,  together 
with  some  of  the  sketches  contained  in  his  jour- 
nals, is  now  given  to  the  public  for  the  first  time. 

A  second  Jeannette  relief  expedition,  already 
mentioned  as  that  of  the  Rodgers,  was  sent  out 
under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
It  succeeded  in  reaching  Wrangell  Land  two  weeks 
after  the  Corwin.  In  order  to  make  our  geograph- 
ical and  scientific  knowledge  of  this  remote  island 
as  complete  in  this  volume  as  possible,  we  deem  it 
desirable  to  include  a  brief  -account  of  what  was 
achieved  during  the  cruise  of  the  Rodgers. 

This  vessel,  a  stout  and  comparatively  new 
whaler,  known  before  its  re-baptism  as  the  Mary 

I  xvii  ] 


Introduction 

and  Helen,  was  placed  in  command  of  Lieutenant, 
now  Rear  Admiral,  Robert  M.  Berry.  He  discov- 
ered on  the  southern  shore  of  Wrangell  Land  a  snug 
little  harbor  where  he  kept  the  Rodgers  at  anchor 
for  nineteen  days  while  two  search  parties,  in 
whaleboats,  going  in  opposite  directions,  explored 
the  coast  for  possible  survivors  of  the  missing 
whalers  and  for  cairns  left  by  the  crew  of  the  Jean- 
nette.  These  search  parties  nearly  circumnavigated 
the  Island  without  finding  anything  except  Captain 
Hooper's  cairn,  and  Commander  Berry,  in  his  re- 
port to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  said,  "I  believe 
it  impossible  that  any  of  the  missing  parties  ever 
landed  here." 

The  principal  gain  of  this  exploration  was  a 
running  survey  of  the  coast  and  a  general  deter- 
mination of  the  size  of  the  island.  In  other  respects 
the  harvest  of  scientific  facts  gathered  on  Wrangell 
Land  by  the  Rodgers  was  meager,  if  one  may  judge 
by  W.  H.  Gilder's  Ice  Pack  and  Tundra,  Unfor- 
tunately, the  act  which  carried  the  appropriation 
for  the  expedition  provided  that  the  vessel  selected 
"be  wholly  manned  by  volunteers  from  the  Navy." 
This  fact  seems  to  have  prevented  the  taking  of 
men  trained  in  the  natural  sciences,  like  John  Muir 
or  E.  W.  Nelson.  Nineteen  days  on  Wrangell  Land 
would  have  enabled  them  to  obtain  a  large  amount 
of  interesting  information  about  its  flora,  fauna, 
avifauna,  and  geology. 

[  xviii  ] 


Introduction 

Commander  Berry,  taking  charge  of  an  explor- 
ing party,  penetrated  twenty  miles  into  the  inte- 
rior of  the  island  and  ascended  a  conspicuous 
mountain  whose  height,  by  barometric  measure- 
ment, was  found  to  be  twenty-five  hundred  feet. 
He  reported  that  he  "could  see  from  its  summit  the 
sea  in  all  directions,  except  between  S.S.W.  by  W. 
per  compass.  The  day  was  very  clear,  and  no  land 
except  Herald  Island  was  visible  from  this  height. 
There  was  no  ice  in  sight  to  the  southward."  A 
letter  of  inquiry  addressed  to  Rear  Admiral  Berry 
by  the  editor  brought  a  courteous  reply,  stating 
that  he  did  not  know  of  any  photographs  or 
sketches,  made  by  members  of  the  Rodgers  expedi- 
tion, which  would  show  the  coast  or  interior  topo- 
graphy of  the  island;  that  "the  vegetation  was 
scant,  consisting  of  a  few  Arctic  plants,  a  little 
moss,  etc.";  that  "polar  bears,  walrus,  and  seal 
were  quite  common  upon  or  near  the  island,"  and 
that  the  provisional  map  which  accompanied  his 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  1881  is  the 
only  one  available. 

From  our  reproduction  of  this  map,  and  from 
the  report  of  the  Rodgers,  it  will  be  seen  that  prac- 
tically the  whole  interior  of  the  Island  still  awaits 
exploration.  Estimates  of  Its  size  vary  between 
twenty-eight  and  forty  miles  as  to  width,  and  be- 
tween sixty-five  and  seventy-five  as  to  length. 
Striking  an  average,  one  might  say  that  it  contains 

[  xix  ] 


Introduction 

about  twenty-five  hundred  square  miles  of  terri- 
tory. The  distance  across  Long  Strait  from  the 
nearest  point  on  the  Siberian  coast  is  about  eighty- 
five  or  ninety  miles,  and  Herald  Island  lies  about 
thirty  miles  east  of  Wrangell  Land. 

In  1914  the  Karluk,  Steffansson's  flagship  of 
the  Canadian  Arctic  Expedition,  was  crushed  in 
the  ice,  and  sank  not  far  from  the  place  where  the 
Jeannette  was  lost.  Under  the  able  leadership  of 
Captain  Robert  A.  Bartlett  the  members  of  the 
expedition  made  their  way  to  Wrangell  Land, 
where  they  remained  encamped  while  Captain 
Bartlett,  with  an  Eskimo,  crossed  Long's  Strait 
to  Siberia  over  the  ice.  Thence  he  made  his  way 
to  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  and  enlisted  aid  for  the 
Karluk  survivors.  Their  rescue  was  effected  suc- 
cessfully, and,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  discover, 
these  members  of  the  Canadian  Arctic  Expedition 
are  the  only  huiman  beings  that  have  been  on 
Wrangell  Land  since  the  visit  of  the  Corwin  and 
the  Rodgers  in  188 1. 

We  venture  to  mention,  in  this  connection,  a 
few  facts  which  call  for  consideration  in  the  in- 
terest of  a  historical  and  consistent  geographical 
nomenclature.  The  United  States  Geographic 
Board  has  done  much  to  bring  order  out  of  the 
chaos  of  Alaskan  names,  and  its  decisions  are 
available  in  Baker's  Geographic  Dictionary  of 
Alaska^  which  has  been  followed  in  the  editing  of 

[XX] 


Introduction 

this  volume.  There  is  a  "Wrangell  Island"  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  well  known  to  readers  of 
Muir's  Travels  in  Alaska^  hence  it  occasions  need- 
less confusion  to  call  Wrangell  Land  by  the  same 
name,  as  even  recent  Hydrographic  Office  charts 
continue  to  do,  besides  misspelling  the  name.  The 
retention  of  the  term  "land"  for  an  island  is  sup- 
ported by  abundant  precedent,  especially  in  the 
Arctic  regions. 

The  altitude  of  the  mountain  ascended  by  Com- 
mander Berry. had  already  been  determined  with 
remarkable  accuracy  by  Captain  Long  in  1867. 
He  described  it  as  having  "the  appearance  of  an 
extinct  volcano,"  and  it  is  shown  on  his  sketch  of 
Wrangell  Land,  reproduced  on  the  map  accom- 
panying Nourse's  American  Explorations  in  the  Ice 
Zones.  Captain  Hooper,  in  his  report  of  the  cruise  of 
the  Corwin,  declares  that  the  peak  had  been  appro- 
priately named  for  Long,  and  adds,  "Singular  as 
it  may  appear,  this  name  to  which  Captain  Long 
was  justly  entitled  has,  notwithstanding  our  pre- 
tended custom  of  adhering  to  original  names,  been 
set  aside  on  a  recent  issue  of  American  charts." 
It  is  some  compensation,  however,  that  the  wide 
stretch  of  water  between  the  North  Siberian  coast 
and  Wrangell  Land  is  now  known  as  Long  Strait. 

Captain  Hooper  and  his  party,  being  the  first  to 
set  foot  upon  Wrangell  Land,  exercised  the  privi- 
lege of  taking  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the 

[  xxi  ] 


Introduction 

United  States.  In  order  to  avoid  the  confusion  of 
the  two  names,  Kellett  and  Wrangell,  which  it 
already  bore,  Captain  Hooper  named  it  New 
Columbia.  This  name,  which  was  set  aside  by  the 
Hydrographic  Office,  he  says 

was  suggested  by  the  name  which  had  been  given  to 
the  islands  farther  west,  New  Siberia.  It  is  probable 
that  the  name  Wrangell  Land  will  continue  in  use 
upon  American  charts,  but  its  justice,  in  view  of  all 
the  facts,  is  not  so  apparent.  In  my  opinion  the  adop- 
tion by  us  of  the  name  Kellett  Land  given  by  the 
English  would  be  appropriate,  and  avoid  the  confu- 
sion which  is  sure  to  follow  in  consequence  of  its 
having  two  names. 

Headlands  and  other  geographical  features  of  the 
island  were  named  by  us,  but  as  the  names  which 
were  applied  to  features  actually  discovered  by  the 
Corwin  and  heretofore  unnamed  have  been  ignored, 
it  is  possible  that  a  desire  to  do  honor  to  the  memory 
of  Wrangell  is  not  the  only  consideration.  To  avoid 
the  complications  which  would  result  from  dupli- 
cating geographical  names,  I  have  dropped  all  be- 
stowed by  the  Corwin  and  adopted  the  more  recent 
ones  applied  by  the  Hydrographic  Office.  I  have  also 
adopted  the  plan  of  the  island  [from  surveys  of  the 
Rodgers]  as  shown  on  the  small  chart  accompanying 
Hydrographic  Notice  No.  84,  although  the  trend  of 
the  coast  and  the  geographical  position  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river  where  we  first  planted  the  flag  do  not 
agree  with  the  result  of  the  observations  and  tri- 
angulations  made  by  the  Corwin. 

Now  that  Captain  Hooper  and  nearly  all  the  men 
who  had  a  share  in  these  explorations  of  the  early 

[  xxii  1 


Introduction 

eighties  have  passed  on,  it  is  proper  that  the  basic 
facts  as  well  as  conflicting  judgments  should  be 
set  down  here  for  the  just  consideration  of  geog- 
raphers. Both  from  Muir's  vivid  narrative  of  the 
Corwin's  penetration  to  the  shores  of  Wrangell 
Land,  and  from  Captain  Hooper's  admirable  report 
published  in  1884  as  Senate  Executive  Document 
No.  204,  the  reader  will  conclude  that  the  Captain 
of  the  Corwin  had  a  better  right  to  be  remembered 
in  connection  with  the  geographical  features  of  the 
island  than  most  of  the  persons  whose  names  have 
been  attached  to  them  by  the  Hydrographic  Office. 

Whether  Wrangell  Land  became  United  States 
territory  when  Hooper  formally  raised  our  flag 
over  it  is  a  question.  The  editor  is  unable  to  discover 
any  treaty  between  Russia  and  the  United  States 
which  would  debar  possession  by  the  latter.  But 
questions  involving  rights  of  territorial  discovery 
have  not,  so  far  as  we  know,  been  raised  between 
the  two  governments. 

Muir's  opportunity  to  join  the  Corwin  appar- 
ently arose  out  of  his  acquaintanceship  with  Cap- 
tain Hooper,  and  when  the  invitation  came  he  had 
little  time  to  prepare  for  the  cruise.  A  letter  to  his 
wife  affords  a  glimpse  of  his  surroundings  and  plans 
when  the  Corwin  was  approaching  Unalaska. 

All  goes  well  on  our  little  ship  [he  writes]  and  not 
all  the  tossing  of  the  waves,  and  the  snow  and  hail 
on  the  deck,  and  being  out  of  sight  of  land  so  long, 

[  xxiii  ] 


Introduction 

can  make  me  surely  feel  that  I  am  not  now  with 
you  all  as  ever,  so  sudden  was  my  departure,  and  so 
long  have  I  been  accustomed  in  the  old  lonely  life  to 
feel  the  influence  of  loved  ones  as  if  present  in  the 
flesh,  while  yet  far.  .  .  .  There  are  but  three  of  us  in 
the  cabin,  the  Captain,  the  Surgeon,  and  myself, 
and  only  the  same  three  at  table,  so  that  there  is  no 
crowding.  ... 

Should  we  be  successful  in  reaching  Wrangell  Land 
we  would  very  likely  be  compelled  to  winter  on  it, 
exploring  while  the  weather  permitted.  In  case  we 
are  unsuccessful  in  reaching  Wrangell  Land,  we  may 
get  caught  farther  west  and  be  able  to  reach  it  by 
dog-sledges  in  winter  while  the  pack  is  frozen.  Or 
we  may  have  to  winter  on  the  Siberian  coast,  etc., 
etc.,  according  to  the  many  variable  known  and  un- 
known circumstances  of  the  case.  Of  course  if  De 
Long  is  found  we  will  return  at  once.  If  not,  a  per- 
sistent eifort  will  be  made  to  force  a  way  to  that  mys- 
terious ice-girt  Wrangell  Land,  since  it  was  to  it  that 
De  Long  was  directing  his  efforts  when  last  heard 
from.  We  will  be  cautious,  however,  and  we  hope  to  be 
back  to  our  homes  this  fall.  Do  not  allow  this  outline 
of  Captain  Hooper's  plan  to  get  into  print  at  present. 

From  another  letter  written  the  following  day 
we  quote  this  breezy  bit  of  description :  — 

How  cold  it  is  this  morning!  How  it  blows  and 
snows!  It  is  not  "the  wolfs  long  howl  on  Unalaska's 
shore,"  as  Canlpbell  has  it,  but  the  wind's  long  howl. 
A  more  sustained,  prolonged,  screeching,  raving  howl 
I  never  before  heard.  But  the  little  Corwin  rides  on 
through  it  in  calm  strength,  rising  and  falling  amid 
the  foam-streaked  waves  like  a  loon.  The  cabin  boy, 
Henry,  told  me  this  morning  [May  i6]  early  that 

[  xxiv  ] 


Introduction 

land  was  in  sight.  So  I  got  up  at  six  o'clock  —  nine 
of  your  time  —  and  went  up  into  the  pilot-house  to 
see  it.  Two  jagged  black  masses  were  visible,  with 
hints  of  snow  mountains  back  of  them,  but  mostly 
hidden  beneath  a  snow-storm. 

After  breakfast  we  were  within  two  miles  of  the 
shore.  Huge  snow-peaks,  grandly  ice-sculptured, 
loomed  far  into  the  stormy  sky  for  a  few  moments  in 
tolerably  clear  relief;  then  the  onrush  of  snowflakes, 
sweeping  out  into  the  dark  levels  of  the  sea,  would 
hide  it  all  and  fill  our  eyes,  while  we  puckered  our 
brows  and  tried  to  gaze  into  the  face  of  it  all. 

We  have  to  proceed  in  the  dimness  and  confusion 
of  the  storm  with  great  caution,  stopping  frequently 
to  take  soundings,  so  it  will  probably  be  one  or  two 
o'clock  before  we  reach  the  harbor  of  Unalaska  on 
the  other  side  of  the  island.  I  tried  an  hour  ago  to 
make  a  sketch  of  the  mountains  along  the  shore  for 
you,  to  be  sent  with  this  letter,  but  my  fingers  got 
too  cold  to  hold  the  pencil,  and  the  snow  filled  my 
eyes,  and  so  dimmed  the  outlines  of  the  rocks  that  I 
could  not  trace  them. 

Down  here  in  the  cabin  it  is  warm  and  summerish, 
and  when  the  Captain  and  Doctor  are  on  deck  I  have 
it  all  to  myself.  ...  I  am  glad  you  thought  to  send 
my  glasses  and  barometer  and  coat.  We  will  procure 
furs  as  we  proceed  north,  so  as  to  be  ready  in  case  we 
should  be  compelled  to  winter  in  the  Arctic  regions. 
It  is  remarkably  cold  even  here,  and  dark  and  blue 
and  forbidding  every  way,  though  it  is  fine  weather 
for  health. 

I  was  just  thinking  this  morning  of  our  warm 
sunny  home  .  .  .  and  of  the  red  cherries  down  the  hill, 
and  the  hundreds  of  blunt-billed  finches,  every  one 
of  them  with  red  bills  soaked  in  cherry  juice.  Not 
much  fruit  juice  beneath  this  sky! 

[  XXV   ] 


Introduction 

During  the  cruise  Muir  kept  a  daily  record  of  his 
experiences  and  observations.  He  also  wrote  a 
series  of  letters  to  the  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulle- 
tin in  which  he  turned  to  account  the  contents  of 
his  journal.  Comparison  of  the  letters  with  the 
journal  shows  that  his  note-books  contain  a  large 
amount  of  interesting  literary  and  scientific  mate- 
rial which  has  not  been  utilized  in  the  Bulletin  let- 
ters. To  publish  both  would  involve  too  much 
duplication.  It  has  seemed  best,  therefore,  to  make 
the  letters  the  foundation  of  the  volume  and  to 
insert  the  additional  matter  from  the  journal  wher- 
ever it  belongs  chronologically  in  the  epistolary 
record.  Most  of  the  letters  have  thus  grown  far 
beyond  their  original  size. 

The  performance  of  this  task  has  often  been  try- 
ing and  time-consuming,  especially  when  it  became 
the  editor's  duty  to  avoid  repetition,  or  overlap- 
ping, by  selecting  what  seemed  to  be  the  more 
comprehensive,  the  more  finished,  or  the  more 
vivid  form  of  statement.  But  this  method  of  solv- 
ing the  diflficulty  has  the  advantage,  for  the  reader, 
of  unifying  in  the  present  volume  practically  the 
whole  of  Muir's  literary  and  scientific  work  during 
the  cruise  of  the  Corwin.  Sometimes,  as  in  chap- 
ters eleven  and  twelve,  all  the  material  is  new  and 
has  been  derived  exclusively  from  the  journal.  The 
style  of  the  latter  may  generally  be  recognized  by 
its  telegraphic  conciseness. 

[  xxvi  ] 


Introduction 

During  his  studies  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Muir 
had  acquired  skill,  speed,  and  accuracy  in  sketch- 
ing the  features  of  a  landscape.  This  ability  he 
turned  to  good  account  during  the  cruise  of  the 
Corwin,  for  one  of  his  journals  is  filled  with  a  vari- 
ety of  sketches  which  prove  to  be  remarkably  faith- 
ful pictures  in  cases  where  it  has  been  possible  to 
compare  them  with  photographs.  In  judging  the 
pictorial  value  of  these  sketches  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  Muir  employed  them  chiefly  as  an  aux- 
iliary descriptive  means  of  recording  his  observa- 
tions for  future  use.  One  of  the  sketches,  for 
instance,  is  an  extensive  panoramic  view  of  the 
southern  coast  of  Wrangell  Land,  evidently  done 
as  the  Corwin  cruised  along  the  coast.  Since  his 
numerous  sketches  of  Wrangell  Land  are  appar- 
ently the  only  ones  in  existence,  they  are  of  unique 
importance  in  connection  with  his  account  of  the 
Corwin's  landing  on  the  island.  The  same  consid- 
erations apply  in  a  measure  to  Herald  Island  whose 
precipitous  cliff's  he  was  the  first  to  scale  as  well  as 
to  sketch. 

Since  Muir's  primary  object  in  joining  the  Cor- 
win expedition  was  to  look  for  evidence  of  glacia- 
tion  in  the  Arctic  and  subarctic  regions,  we  have 
deemed  it  desirable  to  include  in  this  volume  the 
article  in  which  he  gathered  up  the  results  of  his 
glacial  studies  and  discoveries.  It  was  published 
in  1884,  with  Captain  C.  L.  Hooper's  report,  as 

[  xxvii  ] 


Introduction 

Senate  Executive  Document  No.  204  of  the  Forty- 
eighth  Congress. 

Both  the  Hooper  report  and  the  article  on  glaci- 
ation  were  elaborately  illustrated  from  Muir's  pen- 
cil sketches,  though  the  fact  that  they  were  Muir's 
is  nowhere  stated.  "The  'Glacier  Article'  arrived 
on  the  sixth,"  wrote  Captain  Hooper  to  Muir  un- 
der date  of  February  7,  1884,  "and  was  sent  on 
its  way  rejoicing  the  same  day.  The  Honorable 
Secretary  [of  the  Treasury]  assures  me  that  he  will 
see  that  the  whole  is  printed  without  delay.  Please 
accept  my  thanks  for  the  article,  which  is  very 
interesting.  The  sketches  are  very  fine  and  will 
prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  report.  That  of 
the  large  glacier  from  Mount  Fairweather  is  par- 
ticularly fine." 

The  article  on  glaciation  should  have  been  pub- 
lished a  year  earlier,  in  the  same  volume  with  the 
"Botanical  Notes."  But  for  some  reason  Muir  was 
misinformed,  and  an  apologetic  letter  to  him  from 
Major  E.  W.  Clark,  then  Chief  of  the  United 
States  Revenue  Marine,  hints  at  a  petty  intrigue 
as  the  cause.  "I  regret  very  much,"  he  writes, 
"that  I  had  not  myself  corresponded  with  you 
regarding  your  contribution  to  the  Arctic  report. 
Your  article  on  glaciation  would  have  been  exactly 
the  thing  and  would  have  admitted  of  very  effec- 
tive illustration.  I  feel  well  assured  that  you  were 
purposely  misinformed  regarding  the  report,  and 

[  xxviii  ] 


Introduction 

could  readily  explain  the  reason  to  you  in  a  per- 
sonal interview.  There  has  been  much  anxious 
inquiry  for  your  notes  on  glaciation."  It  was  the 
writer  of  this  letter  after  whom  Captain  Hooper 
named  the  river  at  whose  mouth  the  Corwin 
anchored  on  Wrangell  Land.  This  fact  has  been 
recorded  by  Professor  Joseph  Everett  Nourse, 
U.S.N.,  in  his  work  American  Explorations  in  the 
Ice  Zones,  He  states  that  through  the  courtesy 
of  Major  Clark  he  had  access  to  the  unpublished 
official  report  of  the  cruise  of  the  Corwin.  Since  the 
river  in  question  appears  without  a  name  upon  the 
chart  of  Wrangell  Land,  we  must  suppose  it  to  be 
one  of  the  names  which  Captain  Hooper  complains 
the  Hydrographic  Office  ignored. 

Besides  the  illustrative  drawings  which  ac- 
company Muir's  article  on  glaciation  in  the  Far 
North,  his  note-books  contain  numerous  interest- 
ing sketches  of  geological  and  topographical  features 
of  Arctic  landscapes.  They  show  with  what  tireless 
industry  and  pains  he  worked  at  his  task.  This  is 
the  first  publication  of  the  general  conclusions  of 
his  Arctic  studies,  supported  in  detail  by  the 
records  of  his  journal,  and  by  his  sketches.  In  its 
present  form  the  article  follows  a  revised  copy 
found  among  Muir's  papers. 

Muir's  report  on  the  flora  of  Herald  Island  and 
Wrangell  Land  still  remains,  after  thirty-six  years, 
the  only  one  ever  made  on  the  vegetation  of  these 

[  xxix  ] 


Introduction 

remote  Arctic  regions.  It  has  seemed  best,  there- 
fore, to  include  also  his  article  entitled  "Botanical 
Notes  "  as  an  appendix  to  this  volume.  It  was  first 
published  in  1883  as  a  part  of  Treasury  Depart- 
ment Document  No.  429.  Strangely  enough,  the 
letter  of  transmittal  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  refers  to  it  as  "the  observations  on  glaci- 
ation  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Alaska  region 
made  by  John  Muir." 

The  author  never  saw  printer's  proof  after  he 
sent  the  manuscript,  and  the  number  of  typo- 
graphical errors  made  in  the  technical  parts  of  his 
article  must  have  established  a  new  record,  for 
they  mount  into  hundreds.  Knowing  that  Muir 
had  sent  a  duplicate  set  of  his  Arctic  plant  collec- 
tion to  Dr.  Asa  Gray  for  final  scientific  determina- 
tion, the  editor  went  to  the  Gray  Herbarium  of 
Harvard  University,  in  order  to  make  the  neces- 
sary corrections  and  verifications.  Fortunately  the 
writer  found  there  not  only  the  original  plants,  but 
also  Muir's  letters  to  Asa  Gray.  "  I  returned  a  week 
ago,"  wrote  Muir  under  date  of  October  31,  1881, 
"from  the  polar  region  around  Wrangell  Land  and 
Herald  Island,  and  brought  a  few  plants  from  there 
which  I  wish  you  would  name  as  soon  as  conven- 
ient, as  I  have  to  write  a  report  on  the  flora  for  the 
expedition.  I  had  a  fine  icy  time,  and  gathered  a 
lot  of  exceedingly  interesting  facts  concerning  the 
formation  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean, 

[  XXX   I 


Introduction 

and  the  configuration  of  the  shores  of  Siberia  and 
Alaska.  Also  concerning  the  forests  that  used  to 
grow  there,  etc.,  which  I  hope  some  day  to  discuss 
with  you." 

The  editor  has  made  no  attempt  to  reduce  the 
genus  and  species  names  to  modern  synonymy. 
As  in  the  case  of  Muir's  A  Thousand-Mile  Walk  to 
the  Gulf,  it  has  seemed  best  to  offer  the  original 
determinations,  making  the  necessary  corrections 
by  reference  to  the  Index  Kewensis,  and,  in  the 
case  of  the  ferns,  to  Christensen's  Index  Filicum, 
Since  Muir's  lists  did  not  follow  any  particular  or- 
der of  classification  we  have  adopted  the  order  of 
families  laid  down  in  the  last  edition  of  Gray's 
Manual  of  Botany, 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  fact  that  Muir 
found  on  the  Arctic  shore  of  Alaska,  near  Cape 
Thompson,  a  species  of  Erigeron  new  to  science. 
It  is  an  asteraceous  plant  with  showy,  daisy-like 
flowers.  In  reporting  this  find  to  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Asa  Gray  described 
it  as  "the  most  interesting  and  apparently  the  only 
new  species  of  an  extensive  and  truly  valuable  col- 
lection made  by  Mr.  Muir  in  a  recent  searching 
cruise  which  he  accompanied,  and  which  extended 
to  Wrangel  Island  [Wrangell  Land].  The  plant 
seems  to  have  been  abundant,  for  it  occurs  in  the 
collection  under  three  numbers." 

Gray  promptly  named  it  Erigeron  Muirii  in 
[  xxxi  ] 


Introduction 

honor  of  its  finder,  thus  redeeming  for  the  second 
time  a  promise  made  ten  years  earlier  when  he 
wrote  to  Muir,  "Pray,  find  a  new  genus,  or  at  least 
a  new  species,  that  I  may  have  the  satisfaction  of 
embalming  your  name,  not  in  glacier  ice,  but  in 
spicy  wild  perfume."  An  illustration  of  the  plant, 
made  "after  Muir's  own  sketch,  appears  in  place  of 
the  usual  colophon  on  the  title-page  of  this  volume. 

William  Frederic  Bade. 

Harvard  University  Library, 
June,  J917, 


'The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

CHAPTER  I 

UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

Unalaska,  May  i8,  i88i, 

THE  Storm  King  of  the  North  is  abroad  to- 
day, working  with  a  fine,  hearty  enthusiasm, 
rolling  a  multitude  of  white  combing  waves  through 
the  rocky,  jagged  straits  between  this  marvelous 
chain  of  islands,  circling  them  about  with  beaten 
foam,  and  heaping  a  lavish  abundance  of  snow  on 
their  lofty,  cloud-wrapped  mountains.  The  deep 
bass  of  the  gale,  sounding  on  through  the  rugged, 
ice-sculptured  peaks  and  gorges,  is  delightful  music 
to  our  ears,  now  that  we  are  safely  sheltered  in  a 
land-locked  harbor. 

The  steamer  Thomas  Corwin  arrived  here  about 
noon  to-day,  after  a  prosperous  run  of  thirteen  days 
from  San  Francisco,  intending  to  take  on  coal  and 
additional  supplies  of  every  kind  for  her  long  cruise 
in  the  Arctic  in  search  of  the  Jeannette  and  the 
missing  whalers.  Nothing  especially  noteworthy 
occurred  on  the  voyage.  The  weather  was  remark- 
ably cold  for  this  season  of  the  year,  the  average 
temperature  for  the  first  day  or  two  being  about 

[3l 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

55® ;F.,  falling  gradually  to  35°  as  we  approached 
Unalaska,  accompanied  by  blustering  squalls  of 
snow  and  hail,  suggestive  of  much  higher  latitudes 
than  this. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth  we  met  a 
gale  from  the  northeast,  against  which  the  Corwin 
forced  her  way  with  easy  strength,  rising  and  falling 
on  the  foam-streaked  waves  as  lightly  as  a;  duck. 
We  first  sighted  land  on  the  morning  of  the  seven- 
teenth, near  the  southeast  extremity  of  Unalaska 
Island.  Two  black  outstanding  masses  of  jagged 
lava  were  visible,  with  the  bases  of  snowy  peaks 
back  of  them,  while  all  the  highlands  were  buried 
beneath  storm-clouds.  After  we  had  approached 
within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  shore,  a  ragged 
opening  in  the  clouds  disclosed  a  closely  packed 
cluster  of  peaks,  laden  with  snow,  looming  far  into 
the  stormy  sky  for  a  few  moments  in  tolerably  clear 
relief,  then  fading  again  in  the  gloom  of  the  clouds 
and  fresh  squalls  of  blinding  snow  and  hail.  The 
fall  of  the  snowflakes  among  the  dark,  heaving 
waves  and  curling  breakers  was  a  most  impressive 
sight. 

Groping  cautiously  along  the  coast,  we  at  length 
entered  the  Akutan  Pass.  A  heavy  flood  tide  was 
setting  through  it  against  the  northeast  gale,  which 
raised  a  heavy  sea.  The  waves  reared  as  if  about  to 
fall  backward,  while  the  wind  tore  off  their  white 
curling  tops  and  carried  them  away  in  the  form  of 

[4] 


Una  las ka  and  the  Aleuts 

gray  scud.  Never  before  have  I  seen  the  sea  in  so 
hearty  and  exhilarating  a  motion.  It  was  all  one 
white,  howling,  rampant,  runaway  mass  of  foam 
from  side  to  side.  We  feared  getting  our  decks 
swept.  Caught,  therefore,  as  we  were  between  the 
tide  and  the  gale,  we  turned  to  seek  shelter  and 
wait  better  times. 

We  found  good  anchorage  in  the  lee  of  a  red 
lava  bluff  near  Cook's  Harbor,  a  few  miles  to  the 
westward  of  the  mouth  of  the  Pass.  The  sailors 
got  out  their  cod-lines,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a 
dozen  fine  cod  were  flapping  on  the  deck.  They 
proved  to  be  excellent  fish,  eaten  fresh.  But 
whether  they  are  as  good  as  the  renowned  New- 
foundland article  I  cannot  judge,  as  I  never  have 
tasted  fresh  cod.  The  storm  sounding  on  over  the 
mountains  made  fine  music  while  we  lay  safely  at 
anchor,  and  we  enjoyed  it  all  the  more  because  we 
were  in  a  wild,  nameless  place  that  we  had  our- 
selves discovered. 

The  next  morning,  the  gale  having  abated  some- 
what, we  entered  the  strait.  Wind  and  tide  were 
flowing  in  company,  but  they  were  against  us,  and 
so  strong  was  the  latter  that  we  could  not  stem  it, 
and  were  compelled  to  fall  back  until  it  was  near 
the  turn.  The  Aleutian  chain  extends  across  from 
continent  to  continent  like  an  imperfect  dam  be- 
tween the  Pacific  and  Bering  Sea,  and  through 
the  gaps  between  the  islands  the  tide  rushes  with 

[5] 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

tremendous  speed  and  uproar.  When  the  tide  was 
favorable,  we  weighed  anchor  and  passed  through 
the  strait  and  around  Kalekta  Point  into  this  mag- 
nificent harbor  ^  without  further  difficulty. 

The  harbor  of  Unalaska  is  excellent,  land-locked, 
and  has  a  good  holding  bottom.  By  virtue  of  its 
geographical  position  it  is  likely  to  remain  for  a 
long  time  the  business  center  of  western  Alaska. 
The  town  ^  is  situated  on  a  washed  and  outspread 
terminal  moraine  at  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  main 
glaciers  that  united  here  to  excavate  the  harbor. 
Just  above  the  village  there  is  a  glacial  lake  only  a 
few  feet  above  tide,  and  a  considerable  area  of  level 
ground  about  it  where  the  cattle  belonging  to  the 
town  find  abundance  of  fine  grass. 

Early  in  the  forenoon  the  clouds  had  lifted  and 
the  sun  had  come  out,  revealing  a  host  of  noble 
mountains,  grandly  sculptured  and  composed,  and 
robed  in  spotless  white,  some  of  the  highest  adorned 
with  streamers  of  mealy  snow  wavering  in  the  wind 
—  a  truly  glorious  spectacle.  To  me  the  features 
of  greatest  interest  in  this  imposing  show  were  the 
glacial  advertisements  everywhere  displayed   in 

A  Dutch  Harbor,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Amaknak  Island  in 
Unalaska  Bay. 

*  The  chief  town  of  Unalaska  Island,  the  most  important  of 
the  eastern  Aleutians,  is  Iliuliuk.  It  was  founded  by  Solovief  dur- 
ing the  decade  between  1760  and  1770,  and  its  Aleut  name, 
according  to  one  interpretation,  means  "harmony,"  according 
to  another,  "the  curved  beach."  The  name  Unalaska  is  often 
applied  loosely  to  the  town  as  well  as  the  island. 

16] 


Una  la  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

clear,  telling  characters  —  the  trends  of  the  num- 
erous inlets  and  canons  pointing  back  into  the 
ancient  ice-fountains  among  the  peaks,  the  sculp- 
ture of  the  peaks  themselves  and  their  general  out- 
lines, and  the  shorn  faces  of  the  cliffs  fronting  the 
sea.  No  clearer  and  more  unmistakable  glacial 
inscriptions  are  to  be  found  upon  any  portion  of  the 
mountain  ranges  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 

It  seems  to  be  guessed  in  a  general  way  by  most 
observers  who  have  made  brief  visits  to  this  region 
that  all  the  islands  of  the  Aleutian  chain  are  clearly 
volcanic  upheavals,  scarce  at  all  changed  since  the 
period  of  their  emergence  from  the  sea.  This  is  an 
impression  made,  no  doubt,  by  the  volcanic  char- 
acter of  the  rocks  of  which  they  are  composed, 
and  by  the  numerous  extinct  and  active  volcanoes 
occurring  here  and  there  along  the  summits  of  the 
highest  masses.  But  it  is  plain  that  the  amount  of 
glacial  denudation  which  these  ancient  lavas  have 
undergone  is  very  great;  so  great  that  now  every 
feature  presented,  with  the  exception  of  the  few 
recent  craters,  is  glacial. 

The  glaciers,  that  a  short  time  ago  covered  all  the 
islands,  have  sculptured  the  comparatively  feature- 
less rock  masses  into  separate  mountain  peaks,  and 
perhaps  into  separate  islands.  Certainly  they  have 
done  this  in  some  cases.  All  the  inlets  or  fiords, 
also,  that  I  have  seen  are  simply  the  channels  of 
the  larger  of  those  old  ice  rivers  that  flowed  into 

I7l 


^he' Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  sea  and  eroded  their  beds  beneath  its  level. 
The  size  and  the  trend  of  every  one  of  these  fiords 
correspond  invariably  with  the  size  and  the  trend 
of  the  glacier  basin  at  its  head,  while  not  a  single 
fiord  or  canon  may  be  found  that  does  not  conduct 
back  to  mountain  fountains  whence  the  eroding 
glacier  drew  its  sources.  The  Alaska  Peninsula,  be- 
fore the  coming  on  of  the  glacial  period,  may  have 
comprehended  the  whole  of  the  Aleutian  chain,  its 
present  condition  being  mostly  due  to  the  down- 
grinding  action  of  ice.  Frost  and  fire  have  worked 
hand  in  hand  to  produce  the  grand  effects  presented 
in  this  majestic  crescent  of  islands. 

Unalaska,  May  21, 1881. 

The  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  and  interesting  to  be  found  on  the 
globe.  It  sweeps  in  a  regular  curve  a  thousand  miles 
long  from  the  end  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula  towards 
Kamchatka  and  nearly  unites  the  American  and 
Asiatic  continents.  A  very  short  geological  time 
ago,  just  before  the  coming  on  of  the  glacial  period, 
this  connection  of  the  continents  was  probably 
complete,  inasmuch  as  the  entire  chain  is  simply 
a  degraded  portion  of  the  North  American  coast 
mountains,  with  its  foothills  and  connecting  ridges 
between  the  summit  peaks  a  few  feet  under  water. 
These  submerged  ridges  form  the  passes  between 
the  islands  as  they  exist  to-day,  while  it  is  evident 

[8] 


Una  la  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

that  this  segregating  degradation  has  been  effected 
by  the  majestic  down-grinding  glaciers  that  lately- 
loaded  all  the  chain.  Only  a  few  wasting  remnants 
of  these  glaciers  are  now  in  existence,  lingering  in 
the  highest,  snowiest  fountains  on  the  largest  of  the 
islands. 

The  mountains  are  from  three  thousand  to  nine 
thousand  feet  high,  many  of  them  capped  with 
perpetual  snow,  and  rendered  yet  more  imposing 
by  volcanoes  emitting  smoke  and  ashes  —  the 
feeble  manifestations  of  upbuilding  volcanic  force 
that  was  active  long  before  the  beginning  of  the 
great  ice  winter.  To  the  traveler  from  the  south, 
approaching  any  portion  of  the  chain  during  the 
winter  or  spring  months,  the  view  presented  is 
exceedingly  desolate  and  forbidding.  The  snow 
comes  down  to  the  water's  edge,  the  solid  winter- 
white  being  interrupted  only  by  black  outstanding 
bluffs  with  faces  too  sheer  for  snow  to  lie  upon,  and 
by  the  backs  of  clustering  rocks  and  long  rugged 
reefs  beaten  and  overswept  by  heavy  breakers  roll- 
ing in  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  or  Bering  Sea,  while 
for  ten  or  eleven  months  in  the  year  all  the  moun- 
tains are  wrapped  in  gloomy,  ragged  storm-clouds. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  no  lack  of  warm,  eager  life 
even  here.  The  stormy  shores  swarm  with  fishes  — 
cod,  halibut,  herring,  salmon  trout,  etc. ;  also  with 
whales,  seals,  and  many  species  of  water  birds, 
while  the  sea-otter,  the  most  valuable  of  the  fur- 

[9l 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

bearing  animals,  finds  its  favorite  home  about  the 
outlying  wave-washed  reefs.  The  only  land  ani- 
mals occurring  in  considerable  numbers  are,  as  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  three  or  four  species 
of  foxes,  which  are  distributed  from  one  end  of 
the  chain  to  the  other,  with  the  Arctic  grouse,  the 
raven,  snowbirds,  wrens,  and  a  few  finches.  There 
are  no  deer,  wild  sheep,  goats,  bears,  or  wolves, 
though  all  of  these  are  abundant  on  the  mainland 
in  the  same  latitude. 

In  two  short  excursions  that  I  made  to  the  top 
of  a  mountain,  about  two  thousand  feet  high,  back 
of  the  settlement  here,  and  to  a  grassy  island  in  the 
harbor,!  found  the  snow  in  some  places  well  tracked 
by  foxes  and  grouse,  and  saw  six  species  of  birds, 
mostly  solitary  or  in  twos  and  threes.  The  vegeta- 
tion near  the  level  of  the  sea  and  on  bare  wind- 
swept ridges,  up  to  a  height  of  a  thousand  feet  or 
more,  is  remarkably  close  and  luxuriant,  covering 
every  foot  of  the  ground. 

First  there  is  a  dense  plush  of  mosses  and  lichens 
from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth.  Out  of  the  moss 
mantle  and 'over  it  there  grow  five  or  six  species  of 
good  nutritious  grasses,  the  tallest  shoulder-high; 
also  three  species  of  vaccinium,  cranberry,  empe- 
trum,  the  delightful  linnaea  in  extensive  patches, 
the  beautiful  purple-flowered  bryanthus,  a  pyrola, 
two  species  of  dwarf  willow,  three  of  lycopodium, 
two  saxifrages,  a  lupine,  wild  pea,  archangelica, 

[10] 


Una  la  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

geranium/anemone,  draba,bearberiy,and  the  little 
gold-thread  coptis,  besides  two  ferns  and  a  few 
withered  specimens  that  I  could  not  make  out. 

The  anemone,  draba,  and  bearberry  are  already 
in  bloom;  the  willows  are  beginning  to  show  the 
ends  of  their  silky  catkins,  and  a  good  many  green 
leaves  are  springing  up  in  sheltered  places  near  the 
level  of  the  sea.  At  a  height  of  four  or  five  hundred 
feet,  however,  winter  still  holds  sway,  with  scarce 
a  memory  of  the  rich  and  beautiful  bloom  of 
the  summer  time.  How  beautiful  these  mountains 
must  be  when  all  are  in  bloom,  with  the  bland  sum- 
mer sunshine  on  them,  the  butterflies  and  bees 
among  them,  and  the  deep  glacial  fiords  calm  and 
full  of  reflections!  The  tall  grasses,  with  their 
showy  purple  panicles  in  flower,  waving  in  the 
wind  over  all  the  lower  mountain  slopes,  with  a 
growth  heavy  enough  for  the  scythe,  must  then  be 
a  beautiful  sight,  and  so  must  the  broad  patches  of 
heathworts  with  their  multitude  of  pink  bells,  and 
the  tall  lupines  and  ferns  along  the  banks  of  the 
streams. 

There  is  not  a  tree  of  any  kind  on  the  islands 
excepting  a  few  spruces  brought  from  Sitka  and 
planted  by  the  Russians  some  fifty  years  ago.  They 
are  still  alive,  but  have  made  very  little  growth  — 
a  circumstance  no  doubt  due  to  the  climate.  But 
in  what  respect  it  differs  from  the  climate  of  south- 
eastern Alaska,  lying  both  north  and  south  of  this 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

latitude,  where  forests  flourish  exuberantly  in  all 
kinds  of  exposures,  on  rich  alluvium  or  on  bare 
rocks,  I  am  unable  to  say.  The  only  wood  I  noticed, 
and  all  that  is  said  to  exist  on  any  of  the  islands,  is 
small  patches  of  willow,  with  stems  an  inch  thick, 
and  of  several  species  of  woody-stemmed  heath- 
worts;  this  the  native  Aleuts  gather  for  fuel,  to- 
gether with  small  quantities  of  driftwood  cast  on 
the  shores  by  the  winds  and  currents. 

Grass  of  good  quality  for  stock  is  abundant  on 
all  the  larger  islands,  and  cattle  thrive  and  grow 
fat  during  the  summer  wherever  they  have  been 
tried.  But  the  wetness  of  the  summer  months  will 
always  prevent  hay  from  being  made  in  any  con- 
siderable quantity  and  make  stock-raising  on  any- 
thing like  a  large  scale  impossible. 

The  agricultural  possibilities  of  the  islands  are 
also  very  limited.  Oats  and  barley  head  out  but 
never  fully  mature,  and  if  they  did,  it  would  be 
very  difficult  to  get  them  dry  enough  for  the  gran- 
ary. Potatoes,  lettuce,  cabbage,  turnips,  beets, 
etc.,  do  well  in  spots  that  are  well  drained  and  have 
a  southern  exposure.  .  v^  . 

According  to  the  census  taken  last  year,  the 
Inhabitants  of  these  islands  number  2451.  Of  this 
population  82  are  whites,  479  Creoles,  and  1890 
Aleuts.  The  Aleuts  are  far  more  civilized  and 
Christianized  than  any  other  tribe  of  Alaska 
Indians.  From  a  third  to  one  half  of  the  men  and 

[  12  ] 


Una  la  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

women  read  and  write.  Their  occupation  is  the 
hunting  of  the  sea-otter  for  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company. 

A  good  hunter  makes  from  four  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  dollars  per  annum.  In  this  pursuit  they 
go  hundreds  of  miles  in  their  frail  skin-covered 
canoes,  which  are  so  light  that  they  may  easily  be 
carried  under  one's  arm.  Earning  so  much  money, 
they  are  able  to  support  themselves  with  many 
comforts  beyond  the  reach  of  most  of  the  laboring 
classes  of  Europe.  Nevertheless,  with  all  their  ad- 
vantages, they  are  fading  away  like  other  Indians. 
The  deaths  exceed  the  births  in  nearly  every  one 
of  their  villages,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time 
when  they  will  vanish  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

On  the  way  back  to  the  ship  I  sauntered  through 
the  town.  It  contains  about  one  hundred  buildings, 
half  of  them  frame,  built  by  the  Alaska  Commercial 
and  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Companies.  Aleutian 
huts  are  called  "barabaras."  They  are  built  of 
turf  on  a  frame  of  wood ;  some  of  them  have  floors, 
and  are  divided  into  many  rooms,  very  small  ones. 
The  smells  are  horrible  to  clean  nostrils,  and  the 
air  is  foul  and  dead  beyond  endurance.  Some  of  the 
bedrooms  are  not  much  larger  than  coffins.  The 
floors  are  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  two  or 
three  feet,  and  the  doors  are  at  the  end  away  from 
the  direction  of  the  prevailing  wind.  There  are  one 
or  two  small  windows  of  glass  or  bladder,  and  a 

[13] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

small  pipe  surmounts  a  very  small  Russian  stove 
in  which  the  stems  of  empetrum  are  burned. 

In  most  of  the  huts  that  I  entered  I  found  a 
Yankee  clock,  a  few  pictures,  and  ordinary  cheap 
crockery  and  furniture;  accordions,  also,  as  they 
are  very  fond  of  music.  All  such  bits  of  furniture 
and  finery  of  foreign  manufacture  contrast  meanly 
with  their  own  old-fashioned  kind.  Altogether,  in 
dress  and  home  gear,  they  are  so  meanly  mixed, 
savage  and  civilized,  that  they  make  a  most  pa- 
thetic impression.  The  moisture  rained  down  upon 
them  every  other  day  keeps  the  walls  and  the  roof 
green,  even  flowery,' and  as  perfectly  fresh  as  the  sod 
before  it  was  built  into  a  hut.  Goats,  once  intro- 
duced by  the  Russians,  make  these  hut  tops  their 
favorite  play  and  pasture  grounds,  much  to  the 
annoyance  of  their  occupants.  In  one  of  these  huts 
I  saw  for  the  first  time  arrowheads  manufactured 
out  of  bottle  glass.  The  edges  are  chipped  by  hard 
pressure  with  a  bit  of  deer  horn. 

As  the  Tlingit  Indians  of  the  Alexander  Archi- 
pelago make  their  own  whiskey,  so  these  Aleuts 
make  their  own  beer,  an  intoxicating  drink,  which, 
if  possible,  is  more  abominable  and  destructive 
than  hootchenoo.  It  is  called  "kvass,"  and  was 
introduced  by  the  Russians,  though  the  Aleutian 
kvass  is  only  a  coarse  imitation  of  the  Russian 
article,  as  the  Indian  hootchenoo  is  of  whiskey.  In 
its  manufacture  they  put  a  quantity  of  sugar  and 

[  14  ] 


Una /a  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

flour,  or  molasses  and  flour,  with  a  few  dried  apples, 
in  a  cask,  fill  it  up  with  water,  and  leave  it  to  fer- 
ment. Then  they  make  haste  to  drink  it  while  it  is 
yet  thick  and  acrid,  and  capable  of  making  them 
howling  drunk.  It  also  creates  a  fiery  thirst  for 
alcohol,  which  is  supplied  by  traders  whenever  they 
get  a  chance.  This  renders  the  misery  of  the  Aleuts 
complete. 

There  are  about  two  thousand  of  them  scattered 
along  the  chain  of  islands,  living  in  small  villages. 
Nearly  all  the  men  are  hunters  of  the  fur  seal,  the 
most  expert  making  five  hundred  dollars  or  more 
per  season.  After  paying  old  debts  contracted  with 
the  Companies,  they  invest  the  remainder  in  trin- 
kets, in  clothing  not  so  good  as  their  own  furs,  and 
in  beer,  and  go  at  once  into  hoggish  dissipation, 
hair-pulling,  wife-beating,  etc.  In  a  few  years  their 
health  becomes  impaired,  they  become  less  success- 
ful in  hunting,  their  children  are  neglected  and  die, 
and  they  go  to  ruin  generally.  When  they  toss  in 
their  kayaks  among  surf-beaten  rocks  where  their 
prey  dwells,  their  business  requires  steady  nerve. 
But  all  the  proceeds  are  spent  for  what  is  worse  than 
useless.  The  best  hunters  have  been  furnished  with 
frame  cottages  by  the  Companies.  These  cottages 
have  a  neat  appearance  outside,  but  are  very  foul 
inside.  Rare  exceptions  are  those  in  which  one  finds 
scrubbed  floors^or  ^flowers  in  pots  on  window-sills 
and  mantels. 

lis] 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

We  called  at  the  house  of  the  priest  of  the  Greek 
Church,  and  were  received  with  fine  civility,  ush- 
ered into  a  room  which  for  fineness  of  taste  in 
furniture  and  fixtures  might  well  challenge  the  very- 
best  in  San  Francisco  or  New  York.  The  wall- 
paper, the  ceiling,  the  floor,  the  pictures  of  Yosem- 
ite  and  the  Czar  on  the  walls,  the  flowers  in  the 
window,  the  books  on  the  tables,  the  window- 
curtains  white  and  gauzy,  tied  with  pink  ribbon, 
the  rugs,  and  odds  and  ends,  all  proclaimed  exqui- 
site taste  of  a  kind  that  could  not  possibly  origi- 
nate anywhere  except  in  the  man  himself  or  his 
wife.  This  room  would  have  made  a  keen  impres- 
sion upon  me  wherever  found,  and  is,  I  am  sure,  not 
dependent  upon  the  squalor  of  most  other  homes 
here,  nor  upon  the  wildness  and  remoteness  of 
Unalaska,  for  the  interest  it  excites.  He  spoke  only 
Russian,  so  that  I  had  but  little  conversation  with 
him,  as  I  had  to  speak  through  our  interpreter.  We 
smoked  and  smiled  and  gestured  and  looked  at  his 
beautiful  home. 

Bishop  Nestor,  who  has  charge  of  the  Alaskan 
diocese,  is  said  to  be  a  charming  and  most  vener- 
able man.  He  now  resides  in  San  Francisco,  but  is 
having  a  house  built  in  Unalaska.  He  is  empowered 
to  build  and  support,  at  the  expense  of  the  home 
church,  a  certain  number  of  parish  churches.  Two 
out  of  seven  of  these  are  located  among  the  Aleuts 
—  at  Unalaska  and  Belkofski.  The  other  Aleutian 

[  i6] 


Una  la  ska  and  the  Aleuts 

villages  which  have  churches,  and  nearly  all  have, 
build  and  support  them  at  their  own  expense. 
The  Russian  Church  claims  about  eleven  thousand 
members  in  all  Alaska.  About  one  half  of  these  are 
Aleuts,  one  thousand  Creoles,  and  the  rest  Indians 
of  Nushagak,  Yukon,  and  Kenai  missions,  over 
which  the  Church  exercises  but  a  feeble  control. 
Shamanism  with  slight  variations  extends  over  all 
Siberia  and  Alaska  and,  indeed,  all  America. 


CHAPTER  II 

AMONG  THE   ISLANDS   OF  BERING  SEA 

St,  Paul,  Alaska,  May  23, 1881. 

ABOUT  four  o'clock  yesterday  morning  the 
Corwin  left  Unalaska,  and  arrived  at  St.  Paul 
shortly  after  noon  to-day,  the  distance  being  about 
one  hundred  and  ninety  miles.  This  is  the  metropo- 
lis of  the  Fur  Seal  Islands,  situated  on  the  island  of 
St.  Paul  —  a  handsome  village  of  sixty-four  neat 
frame  cottages,  with  a  large  church,  school-house, 
and  priest's  residence,  and  a  population  of  nearly 
three  hundred  Aleuts,  and  from  twelve  to  twenty 
whites. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  here  an  isolated  group  of 
Alaskan  natives  wholly  under  white  influence  and 
control,  and  who  have  in  great  part  abandoned 
their  own  pursuits,  clothing,  and  mode  of  life  in  gen- 
eral, and  adopted  that  of  the  whites.  They  are  all 
employed  by  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  as 
butchers,  to  kill  and  flay  the  hundred  thousand 
seals  that  they  take  annually  here  and  at  the  neigh- 
boring island  of  St.  George.  Their  bloody  work 
lasts  about  two  months,  and  they  earn  in  this  time 
from  three  hundred  to  six  hundred  dollars  apiece, 
being  paid  forty  cents  per  skin. 

The  Company  supplies  them  with  a  school,  med- 
[  18] 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

ical  attendance,  and  comfortable  dwellings,  and 
looks  after  their  welfare  in  general,  its  own  interest 
being  involved.  They  even  have  a  bank,  and  are 
encouraged  to  save  their  money,  which  many  of 
them  do,  having  accounts  of  from  two  hundred  to 
three  thousand  dollars.  Fortunately,  the  Aleuts 
of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  are  pretty  effectively 
guarded  against  whiskey,  and  to  some  extent 
against  kvass  also.  Only  limited  quantities  of  sugar 
and  other  kvass  material  are  sold  to  them.  Never- 
theless, one  of  their  number  told  one  of  our  officers 
to-day  that  he  had  a  bank  account  of  eight  hun- 
dred dollars  and  would  give  it  all  for  five  bottles  of 
whiskey;  and  an  agent  of  the  Company  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  that  there  were  not  six  perfectly  sober 
Aleuts  on  the  whole  island  to-day. 

The  number  of  fur  seals  that  resort  to  these  two 
islands,  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  during  the  breed- 
ing season,  is  estimated  at  from  three  to  four  mil- 
lion, and  there  seems  to  be  no  falling  oif  in  num- 
bers since  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  began 
operations  here.  Only  young  males  are  killed  by 
the  Company,  but  many  of  both  sexes  are  taken 
far  from  here  among  the  Aleutian  Islands  and 
around  the  shores  of  Vancouver  Island  and  the 
outermost  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago. 

No  one  knows  certainly  whence  they  come  or 
whither  they  go.  But  inasmuch  as  they  make  their 
appearance  every  year  about  the  shores  of  the 

[191 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Aletltian  Islands  shortly  after  their  disappearance 
from  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  and  then  later  to  the 
southward,  toward  the  coast  of  British  Columbia, 
it  is  supposed  that  they  are  the  same  animals,  and 
that  they  thus  make  journeys  every  year  of  a  thou- 
sand miles  or  more,  and  return  to  their  birthplaces 
like  shoals  of  salmon.  They  begin  to  appear  on  the 
breeding-grounds  about  the  first  of  June.  These 
are  old  males,  who  at  once  take  up  their  stations  on 
high  ground  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  and 
keep  possession  of  their  places  while  they  await  the 
coming  of  the  pregnant  females  who  arrive  about 
a  month  later,  accompanied  by  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  At  the  height  of  the  season 
the  ground  is  closely  covered  with  them,  and  they 
seldom  go  back  into  the  water  or  take  any  food  un- 
til the  young  are  well  grown  and  all  are  ready  to 
leave  the  islands  in  the  fall. 

In  addition  to  the  one  hundred  thousand  taken 
here,  the  Company  obtains  about  forty  thousand 
by  purchase  from  the  Russians  at  Bering  and 
Copper  Islands,  and  from  Indians  and  traders  at 
different  points  south  as  far  as  Oregon.  These 
skins  are  said  to  be  worth  fifteen  dollars  apiece  in 
the  London  market,  to  which  they  are  all  sent.  The 
government  revenue  derived  from  the  one  hun- 
dred thousand  killed  each  year  is  ^317,000.  Next 
in  importance  among  the  fur  animals  of  Alaska,  is 
the  sea-otter,  of  which  about  six  thousand  a  year 

I20I 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

are  taken,  worth  from  eighty  dollars  to  one  hun- 
dred dollars  apiece. 

The  Aleuts  obtain  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars  in 
goods  or  money,  an  alternative  not  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  goods  are  sold  for  their  money  value,  but 
to  the  fact  that  the  traders  sooner  or  later  receive 
back  whatever  money  they  pay  out  instead  of 
goods.  Unlimited  competition  would,  of  course, 
run  the  price  much  higher,  as,  for  example,  it  has 
done  in  southeastern  Alaska.  Here  the  only  com- 
petition lies  between  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading 
Company  and  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 
The  latter  gets  most  of  them.  Each  company  seeks 
the  good-will  of  the  best  hunters  by  every  means  in 
its  power,  by  taking  them  to  and  from  the  hunting 
grounds  in  schooners,  by  advancing  provisions  and 
all  sorts  of  supplies,  by  building  cottages  for  them, 
and  supplying  them  with  the  services  of  a  physician 
and  medicine  free.  Only  Indians  are  allowed  by  law 
to  take  furs,  and  whites  married  to  Indian  women. 
This  law  has  induced  some  fifteen  white  men  to 
marry  Indians  for  the  privilege  of  taking  sea-otter. 
They  have  settled  at  Unga  Island,  one  of  the  Shu- 
magin  group,  where  there  is  a  village  of  some  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  Indians. 

Seen  from  the  sea,  all  the  Pribilof  Islands  —  St. 
Paul,  St.  George,  and  Otter  Island  —  appear  as 
mere  rocks,  naked  and  desolate  fragments  of  lava, 
wasted  into  bluffs  where  they  touch  the  sea,  and 

[21    ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

shorn  off  on  top  by  the  ice-sheet.  The  gray  sur- 
faces are  roughened  here  and  there  by  what,  at 
a  distance,  seem  to  be  degraded  volcanic  cones. 
Nevertheless,  they  are  exceedingly  interesting,  not 
only  because  of  the  marvelous  abundance  of  life 
about  them  —  seals,  water  birds,  and  fishes  —  but 
because  they  tell  so  grand  a  story  concerning  the 
ice-sheet  that  swept  over  them  all  from  the  north. 

^  Steamer  Corwin^ 
Tapkan,  Siberia^  May  31, 1881, 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  this  month,  a  bleak, 
snowy  day,  we  enjoyed  our  first  view  of  the  north- 
em  ocean  ice  at  a  distance  of  only  a  few  hours  from 
the  Pribilof  Islands  in  latitude  58°.  This  is  not 
far  from  its  southern  limit,  though  strong  north 
winds  no  doubt  carry  wasting  fragments  somewhat 
farther.  It  always  reaches  lower  on  the  American 
side.  Norton  Sound  is  seldom  clear  before  the  mid- 
dle or  end  of  June.  Here  the  ice  occurs  in  ragged, 
berglike  masses  from  a  foot  to  a  hundred  feet  in 
breadth,  and  with  the  highest  point  not  more  than 
ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  water.  Its  color  is 
bluish-white,  looking  much  like  coarse,  granular 
snow,  with  pale  blue  stratified  bases  under  water. 

We  ran  past  one  flat  cake  on  which  lay  a  small 
white  seal  which  kept  its  place,  though  we  were 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  of  it.  Guns  were  then 
brought  into  the  pilot-house  and  loaded.  In  a  few 

[22] 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

minutes  another  seal  was  discovered  riding  leisurely 
on  its  ice  raft  and  shot.  The  engine  was  stopped, 
the  boat  lowered,  and  a  sailor  stepped  on  the  ice 
and  threw  the  heedless  fellow  into  the  boat.  It 
seemed  to  pay  scarce  any  attention  to  the  steamer, 
and,  when  wounded  by  the  first  ball  that  was  fired, 
it  did  not  even  then  seek  to  escape,  which  surprised 
me  since  those  among  the  fiords  north  of  Wrangell 
and  Sitka  are  so  shy  that  my  Indians,  as  we  glided 
toward  them  in  a  canoe,  seldom  were  successful 
in  getting  a  shot.  The  seal  was  nearly  white — a 
smooth  oval  bullet  without  an  angle  anywhere, 
large,  prominent,  humanlike  eyes,  and  long  whis- 
kers. It  seemed  cruel  to  kill  it,  and  most  wonderful 
to  us,  as  we  shivered  in  our  overcoats,  that  it  could 
live  happily  enough  to  grow  fat  and  keep  full  of 
warm  red  blood  with  water  at  32°  F.  for  its  pasture 
field,  and  wet  sludge  for  its  bed. 

In  half  an  hour  we  descried  another,  a  large  one, 
which  we  also  shot  as  it  lay  at  ease  on  a  large  cake 
against  which  the  waves  were  beating.  Like  the 
other  two,  it  waited  until  we  were  within  easy 
range,  and  allowed  itself  to  be  shot  without  the 
slightest  effort  to  escape.  This  one  proved  to  be 
a  fine  specimen  of  the  saddle-back  species,  Histri- 
ophoca  fasciata,  still  somewhat  rare  in  collections, 
and  eagerly  sought  for.  It  derives  its  name  from 
the  saddlelike  bands  of  brown  across  the  back.  This 
specimen  weighed  about  two  hundred  pounds.  The 

[23  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwtn 

skins  of  both  were  saved,  fand  the  next  morning 
we  had;^some  of  the  flesh  of  the  small  one  for  break- 
fast. The  meat  proved  to  be  excellent,  dark-red, 
and  very  tender,  with  a  taste  like  that  of  good 
venison. 

We  were  steering  direct  for  St.  Matthew  Island, 
noted  for  the  great  numbers  of  polar  bears  that 
haunt  its  shores.  But  as  we  proceeded,  the  ice 
became  more  and  more  abundant,  and  at  length 
it  was  seen  ahead  in  a  solid  pack.  Then  we  had  to 
abandon  our  plan  of  landing  on  the  island,  and 
steered  eastward  around  the  curving  edge  of  the 
pack  across  the  mouth  of  Anadir  Gulf. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  we  sighted  the  Siberian 
coast  to  the  north  of  the  Gulf,  snow-clad  moun- 
tains appearing  in  clear  outline  at  a  distance  of 
about  seventy  miles.  Even  thus  far  the  traces  of 
glacial  action  were  easily  recognized  in  the  peculiar 
sculpture  of  the  peaks,  which  here  is  as  unmistak- 
ably marked  as  it  is  on  the  summits  of  the  Sierra. 
Strange  that  this  has  not  before  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  observers.  The  highest  of  the  peaks  seems 
to  be  perhaps  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  I 
hope  I  may  yet  have  the  chance  to  ascend  them. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-eighth  we  came 
to  anchor  near  an  Eskimo  village  at  the  northwest 
end  of  St.  Lawrence  Island.  It  was  blowing  and 
snowing  at  the  time,  and  the  poor  storm-beaten 
row  of  huts  seemed  inexpressibly  dreary  through 

[241 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

the  drift.  Nevertheless,  out  of  them  came  a  crowd 
of  jolly,  well-fed  people,  dragging  their  skin  canoes, 
which  they  shoved  over  the  rim  of  stranded  ice  that 
extended  along  the  shore,  and  soon  they  were  along- 
side the  steamer,  offering  ivory,  furs,  sealskin  boots, 
etc.,  for  tobacco  and  ammunition. 

There  was  much  inquiry  for  beads,  molasses, 
and  most  of  all  for  rum  and  rifles,  though  they  will- 
ingly parted  with  anything  they  had  for  tobacco 
and  calico.  After  they  had  procured  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  these  articles,  however,  nothing  but  rifles, 
cartridges,  and  rum  would  induce  them  to  trade. 
But  according  to  American  law,  these  are  not  per- 
mitted to  be  sold.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  rea- 
son why  common  rifles  ^  should  be  prohibited,  inas- 
much as  they  would  more  surely  and  easily  gain  a 
living  by  their  use,  while  they  arc  peaceable  and 
can  hardly  be  induced  to  fight  without  very  great 
provocation.  .  y:'^ 

As  to  the  alcohol,  no  restriction  can  possibly  be 
too  stringent.  To  the  Eskimo  it  is  misery  and  often- 
times quick  death.  Two  years  ago  the  inhabitants 
of  several  villages  on  this  island  died  of  starvation 
caused  by  abundance  of  rum,  which  rendered  them 
careless  about  the  laying  up  of  ordinary  supplies  of 

*  By  a  "common  rifle"  Muir  probably  meant  a  single-shot  or 
muzzle-loading  rifle.  He  changed  his  mind  on  this  subject  when 
he  became  aware  of  the  excessive  slaughter  of  caribou,  or  wild 
reindeer,  committed  by  the  natives  with  repeating  rifles.  (See 
p.  128.) 

[2Sl 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

food  for  the  winter.  Then  an  unusually  severe  sea- 
son followed,  bringing  famine,  and,  after  eating 
their  dogs,  they  lay  down  and  died  in  their  huts. 
Last  year  Captain  Hooper  found  them  where  they 
had  died,  hardly  changed.  Probably  they  are  still 
lying  in  their  rags.  They  numbered  several  hun- 
dreds. 

When  the  people  from  this  village  came  aboard 
to-day  they  said  ours  was  the  first  ship  of  the  sea- 
son, and  they  were  greatly  delighted,  running  over 
the  ship  like  children.  We  gave  them  lead,  powder 
and  caps,  tobacco,  et  cetera,  for  ivory,  arctic  shoes, 
and  reindeer  parkas,  in  case  we  should  need  them 
for  a  winter  in  the  ice,  ordinary  boots  and  woolen 
clothing  being  wholly  inadequate.  These  are  the 
first  Eskimos  that  I  have  seen.  They  impress  me 
as  being  taller  and  less  distinct  as  a  race  than  I  had 
been  led  to  suppose.  They  do  not  greatly  differ 
from  the  Tlingits  of  southeastern  Alaska;  have 
Mongolian  features  well  marked,  seem  to  have 
less  brain  than  the  Tlingits,  longer  faces,  and  are 
more  simple  and  childlike  in  behavior  and  disposi- 
tion. They  never  quarrel  much  among  themselves 
or  with  their  neighbors,  contrasting  greatly  in  this 
respect  with  the  Tlingits  or  Koluschans. 

It  was  interesting  to  see  how  keenly  and  quickly 
they  felt  a  joke,  and  winced  when  exposed  to  ridi- 
cule. Some  of  the  women  are  nearly  white.  They 
show  much  taste  in    the   manufacture  of  their 

[  26  ] 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

clothing,  and  make  everything  durable.  With  their 
reindeer  trousers,  sack,  shirt,  and  sealskin  shoes 
they  bid  defiance  to  the  most  extreme  cold.  Their 
sack,  made  from  the  intestine  of  the  sea-lion,  while 
exceedingly  light,  is  waterproof.  Some  of  their 
parkas  are  made  of  the  breast  skins  of  ducks,  but 
in  no  case  do  they  wear  blankets.  When  they  can 
procure  calico  or  drilling  they  wear  overshirts  of 
this  material,  which  gives  them  a  very  shabby  and 
dirty  look.  Why  they  should  want  such  flimsy  and 
useless  material  I  cannot  guess.  Dressed  in  their 
roomy  furs,  tied  at  the  waist,  they  seem  better- 
dressed  than  any  other  Indians  I  have  seen.  The 
trousers  of  the  men  are  made  of  sealskin,  with  the 
fur  outside.  Those  of  the  women  are  of  deerskin 
and  are  extremely  baggy.  The  legs,  where  gathered 
and  tied  below  the  knee,  measure  about  two  feet 
in  diameter. 

The  chief  of  this  village  is  a  large  man,  five  feet 
ten  inches  or  six  feet  tall,  with  a  very  long  flat  face 
and  abruptly  tapering  forehead,  small,  bright,  cim- 
ning  eyes,  and  childishly  good-natured  and  wide- 
awake to  everything  curious.  Always  searching  for 
something  to  laugh  at,  they  are  ready  to  stop  short 
in  the  middle  of  most  important  bargainings  to  get 
hold  of  some  bit  of  fun.  Then  their  big  faces  would 
fall  calm  with  ludicrous  suddenness,  either  from 
being  empty  or  from  some  business  requiring  atten- 
tion. There  was  less  apparent  squalor  and  misery 

[27] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

among  them  than  among  any  other  Indians  I  have 
seen. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  they  cut  off  their  hair 
close  to  the  scalp,  all  save  a  narrow  rim  around  the 
base,  much  like  the  Chinese  without  the  queue. 
The  hair  in  color  and  coarseness  is  exactly  like  that 
of  the  Chinese;  in  a  general  way  they  resemble  them 
also  in  their  clothes.  Their  heads  seem  insensi- 
ble to  cold,  for  they  bare  them  to  the  storms,  and 
seem  to  enjoy  it  when  the  snow  falls  on  their  skulls. 
There  is  a  hood,  however,  attached  to  most  parkas, 
which  is  drawn  up  over  the  head  in  very  severe 
weather. 

Their  mode  of  smoking  is  peculiar.  The  pipe  is 
made  of  brass  or  copper,  often  curiously  inlaid  with 
lead,  and  the  bowl  is  very  small,  not  over  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  diameter  inside,  and  with  a  flaring 
cuplike  rim  to  prevent  loss  when  it  is  being  filled. 
Only  a  small  pinch  of  finely  pulverized  tobacco  is 
required  to  fill  it.  Then  the  Eskimo  smoker  lights 
it  with  a  match,  or  flint  and  steel,  and  without 
removing  the  pipe  from  his  mouth,  sucks  in  the 
smoke  and  inhales  it,  inflating  his  lungs  to  the 
utmost  and  holding  it  a  second  or  two,  expels  it, 
coughs,  and  puts  his  pipe  and  little  bag  of  tobacco 
away,  the  whole  smoke  not  lasting  one  minute. 
From  the  time  he  commences  he  holds  his  breath 
until  it  is  finished.  The  more  acrid  and  pungent 
the  tobacco  the  better.  If  it  does  not  compel  them 

[28] 


Among  the  Islands  of  Bering  Sea 

to  cough  and  gasp  it  is  not  considered  good.  In 
buying  any  considerable  quantity  they  try  it  before 
completing  the  bargain.  This  method  of  smoking 
is  said  to  be  practiced  among  all  the  Eskimos  and 
also  the  Chukchis  of  Siberia. 

In  buying  whiskey  or  rum  from  the  traders  it  is 
said  that  they  select  one  of  their  number  to  test  its 
strength.  The  trader  gives  nearly  pure  alcohol,  so 
that  the  lucky  tester  becomes  drunk  at  once,  which 
satisfies  them.  Then  the  keg  that  is  purchased  is 
found  to  be  well  watered  and  intoxication  goes  on 
slowly  and  feebly,  much  to  their  disgust  and  sur- 
prise. 


CHAPTER  III 

SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

[Steamer  Corzvin, 
Tapkauy  Siberia,  May  31,  1881.] 

AFTER  inquiring  about  the  movements  of  the 
ice  and  the  whaling  fleet,  we  weighed  anchor 
and  steered  for  Plover  Bay  on  the  coast  of  Siberia, 
taking  several  of  the  natives  with  us.  They  had  a 
few  poles  for  the  frame  of  a  boat  and  skins  to  cover 
it,  and  for  food  a  piece  of  walrus  flesh  which  they 
ate  raw.  This,  with  a  gun  and  a  few  odds  and  ends, 
was  all  their  property,  yet  they  seemed  more  con- 
fident of  their  ability  to  earn  a  living  than  most 
whites  on  their  farms. 

The  afternoon  was  clear  and  the  mountains  about 
Plover  Bay  showed  themselves  in  bold  relief,  quite 
imposing  and  Yosemitic  in  sculpture  and  composi- 
tion. There  was  so  much  ice  at  the  mouth  of  the 
bay,  which  is  a  glacial  fiord,  that  we  could  not 
enter.  In  the  edge  of  the  pack  we  spoke  the  whaler 
Rainbow,  and  delivered  the  Arctic  mail.  Then 
we  proceeded  a  short  distance  northward,  put  into 
Marcus  Bay,  and  anchored  in  front  of  a  small 
Chukchi  settlement.  A  boatful  of  natives  came 
aboard  and  told  a  story  "important  if  true,"  con- 
cerning the  destruction  of  the  lost  whaler  Vigilant 

[30I 


Siberian  Adventures 

and  the  death  of  her  crew.  Three  Chukchi  seal 
hunters,  they  said,  while  out  on  the  ice  last  Novem- 
ber, near  Cape  Serdzekamen,  discovered  the  ship 
in  the  pack,  her  masts  broken  off  by  the  ice,  and 
the  crew  dead  on  the  deck  and  in  the  cabin.  They 
had  brought  off  a  bag  of  money  and  such  articles 
as  they  could  carry  away,  some  of  which  had  been 
shown  to  other  natives,  and  the  story  had  traveled 
from  one  settlement  to  another  thus  far  down  the 
coast. 

All  this  was  told  with  an  air  of  perfect  good  faith, 
and  they  seemed  themselves  to  believe  what  they 
were  telling.  We  had  heard  substantially  the  same 
story  at  St.  Lawrence  Island.  But  knowing  the 
ability  of  these  people  for  manufacturing  tales  of 
this  sort,  we  listened  with  many  grains  of  allow- 
ance, though  of  course  determined  to  investigate 
further. 

Here  we  began  to  inquire  for  dogs,  and  were  suc- 
cessful in  hiring  a  team  of  six,  and  their  owner  to 
drive  them.  The  owner  is  called  "Chukchi  Joe," 
and  since  he  can  speak  a  little  English  he  is  also  to 
act  in  the  capacity  of  interpreter,  his  language  being 
the  same  as  that  spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  north 
Siberian  coast.  While  we  were  trying  to  hire  him, 
one  of  his  companions  kept  reiterating  that  there 
was  no  use  in  sending  out  people  to  look  for  the 
crews  of  those  ships,  for  they  were  all  dead.  Joe 
also  said  that  it  was  no  use  going,  and  that  he  was 

[31  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

afraid  to  venture  so  far  for  fear  he  would  never  get 
back.  The  snow,  he  objected,  was  too  soft  at  this 
time  of  year,  and  many  rivers  hard  to  cross  were  in 
the  way,  and  he  did  not  Hke  to  leave  his  family.  But 
after  we  had  promised  to  pay  him  well,  whether 
our  lost  friends  were  found  or  not,  he  consented  to 
go,  and  when  he  went  ashore  to  get  ready  we  went 
with  him. 

The  settlement  consisted  of  only  two  habitations 
with  twenty-five  or  thirty  persons,  located  back 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  coast.  On  reach- 
ing home  Joe  quickly  vanished.  His  hut  was  about 
twenty-five  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  made  of 
poles  bent  down  at  the  top,  where  they  all  met 
to  form  a  hemisphere.  This  frame  was  covered 
with  skins  of  seal,  sea-lion,  and  walrus,  chiefly  the 
latter.  .  .  .  Since  much  of  the  flesh  on  which  the 
Chukchis  subsist  is  eaten  raw,  only  very  small  fires 
are  made,  and  the  huts  are  cold.  The  ground  inside 
of  this  one  was  wet  and  muddy  as  a  California  cor- 
ral in  the  rainy  season,  and  seemed  almost  as  large. 
But  around  the  sides  of  this  cold,  squalid  shell, 
little  more  than  a  wind-break  and  partial  shelter 
from  rain  and  snow,  there  were  a  number  of  very 
snug,  clean,  luxurious  bedrooms,  whose  sides,  ceil- 
ing, and  floor  were  made  of  fur;  they  were  lighted 
by  means  of  a  pan  of  whale-oil  with  a  bit  of  moss 
for  a  wick.  After  being  out  all  day  hunting  in  the 
stormy  weather,  or  on  ice-packs  or  frozen  tundras, 

[32] 


■ 

^^B 

!.»^^Pf 

1 

Siberian  Adventures 

the  Chukchi  withdraws  into  this  furry  sanctULm, 
takes  off  all  his  clothing,  and  spreads  his  wearied 
limbs  in  luxurious  ease,  sleeping  perfectly  nude  in 
the  severest  weather. 

After  introducing  ourselves  and  shaking  hands 
with  a  few  of  the  most  dignified  of  the  old  men,  we 
looked  about  the  strange  domicile.  Dogs,  children, 
men,  women,  and  utensils;  spears,  guns,  whale- 
lances,  etc.,  were  stuck  about  the  rafters  and  hang- 
ing on  the  supporting  posts.  We  looked  into  one  of 
the  fur  bedrooms,  about  six  by  seven,  and  found 
Joe  enjoying  a  bath  ere  putting  on  his  fine  clothes 
to  set  out  with  us.  Soon  he  emerged  clad  in  a  blue 
cloth  army  coat  with  brass  buttons  and  shoulder 
straps  and  army  cap !  I  scarcely  knew  him. 

In  the  mean  time  Captain  H[ooper]  was  off  tak- 
ing a  drive  over  the  snow  with  a  dog-team  and  sled. 
When  he  returned  Joe  was  having  a  farewell  talk 
with  his  wife,  who  seemed  very  anxious  about  his 
safety  and  long  absence.  His  little  boy,  too,  about  a 
year  and  a  half  old,  had  been  told  that  his  father 
was  going  away  and  he  seemed  to  understand  some- 
what, as  he  kept  holding  him  by  the  legs  and  try- 
ing to  talk  to  him  while  looking  up  in  his  face. 
When  we  started  away  from  the  house  he  kissed 
his  boy  and  bade  him  good-bye.  The  little  fellow 
in  his  funny  bags  of  fur  toddled  after  him  until 
caught  and  carried  back  by  some  of  the  women 
who  were  looking  on.  Joe's  wife  came  aboard  for  a 

[33  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

final  farewell.  After  taking  him  aside  and  talking 
with  him,  the  tears  running  down  her  cheeks,  she 
left  the  vessel  and  went  back  with  some  others  who 
had  come  to  trade  deerskins,  while  we  sailed  away. 
One  touch  of  nature  makes  all  the  world  kin,  and 
here  were  many  touches  among  the  wild  Chukchis. 
We  next  proceeded  to  St.  Lawrence  Bay  in 
search  of  furs  and  more  dogs,  and  came  to  anchor 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  opposite  a  small  Chukchi 
settlement  of  two  huts,  at  half-past  one  in  the  after- 
noon, May  29.  This  bay,  like  all  I  have  seen  along 
this  coast,  is  of  glacial  formation,  conducting  back 
into  glacial  fountains  in  a  range  of  peaks  of  mod- 
erate height.  The  wind  was  blowing  hard  from  the 
south  and  snow  was  falling.  The  natives,  however, 
came  oif  at  once  to  trade.  Here  we  met  the  volu- 
ble Jaroochah,  who  sat  gravely  on  the  sloppy  deck 
in  the  sludge,  and  told  the  story  of  the  wrecked 
Vigilant  in  a  loud,  vehement,  growling,  roaring 
voice  and  with  frantic  gestures.  He  assured  us  over 
and  over  again  that  there  was  no  use  in  going  to 
seek  any  of  the  crew,  for  they  were  all  dead  and  the 
ship  with  her  broken  masts  had  drifted  away  again 
to  the  north  with  the  ice-pack.  When  told  that  we 
would  certainly  seek  them  whether  dead  or  alive, 
he  explained  that  the  snow  and  ice  were  too  soft 
for  sleds  at  this  time  of  year.  Seeing  that  we  were 
still  unconvinced,  he  doubtless  regarded  us  as  fool-: 
ish  and  incorrigible  white  trash. 

I  34  1     . 


Siberian  Adventures 

We  went  ashore  to  fetch  some  dogs  they  offered 
to  sell,  but  they  changed  their  minds  and  refused 
to  sell  at  any  price,  nor  were  they  willing  to  barter 
deerskins  that  we  needed  for  the  trip  and  for  win- 
ter clothing  in  case  we  should  be  caught  in  the  ice 
and  compelled  to  pass  a  winter  in  the  Arctic.  We 
presented  them  with  a  bucket  of  hardtack  which 
no  one  of  the  party  touched  until  the  old  orator 
gave  orders  to  his  son  to  divide  it.  This  he  did  by 
counting  it  out  on  the  deck,  laying  down  one  bis- 
cuit for  each  person  and  then  adding  one  to  each 
until  all  was  exhausted,  piling  them  on  each  other 
like  a  money-changer  counting  out  coins.  The 
mannerly  reserve  and  unhasting  dignity  of  all  these 
natives  when  food  is  set  before  them  is  very  striking 
as  compared  with  the  ravenous,  snatching  haste  of 
the  hungry  poor  among  the  whites.  Even  the  chil- 
dren look  wistfully  at  the  heap  of  bread,  without 
touching  it  until  invited,  and  then  eat  very  slowly 
as  if  not  hungry  at  all.  Nor  do  they  ever  need  to 
be  told  to  wait.  Even  when  a  year  of  famine  occurs 
from  any  cause,  they  endure  it  with  fortitude  such 
as  would  be  sought  for  in  vain  among  the  civil- 
ized, and  after  braving  the  most  intense  cold  of 
these  dreary  ice-bound  coasts  in  search  of  food,  if 
unsuccessful,  they  wrap  themselves  in  their  furs  and 
die  quietly  as  if  only  going  to  sleep.  This  they  did 
by  hundreds  two  years  ago  on  St.  Lawrence  Island. 

[35] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Finding  that  we  could  not  buy  anything  that 
we  wanted  here,  savage  eloquence  being  the  only 
article  offered,  we  sailed  for  the  Diomedes.  Here 
we  found  the  natives  eager  to  trade  away  every- 
thing they  had.  We  bought  a  lot  of  furs  and  nine- 
teen dogs,  paying  a  sack  of  flour  for  each  dog.  This 
Arctic  cattle  market  was  in  every  way  lively  and 
picturesque,  and  ended  satisfactorily  to  all  the 
parties  concerned.  The  scene  of  barter  as  each 
Eskimo,  pitching  alongside  in  his  skin  boat,  hoisted 
the  howling  wolves  aboard  and  thence  to  the  upper 
deck  in  front  of  the  pilot-house,  was  a  rare  one. 

The  villages  are  perched  on  the  steep  rocky 
slopes  of  mountains  which  drop  at  once  sheer  into 
deep  water,  one  mountain  per  island.^  No  margin 
is  left  for  a  village  along  the  shore,  so,  like  the  sea- 
birds  that  breed  here  and  fly  about  in  countless 
multitudes  darkening  the  water,  the  rocks,  and  the 
air,  the  natives  had  to  perch  their  huts  on  the 
cliffs,  dragging  boats  and  everything  up  and  down 
very  steep  trails.  The  huts  are  mostly  built  of 
stone  with  skin  roofs.  They  look  like  mere  stone- 
heaps,  black  dots  on  the  snow  at  a  distance,  with 
whalebone  posts  set  up  and  framed  at  the  top  to 
lay  their  canoes  beyond  the  dogs  that  would  other- 
wise eat  them.   The  dreariest  towns  I  ever  beheld 


^*  Muir  noted  in  his  journal  that "  Fairway  Rock  near  the  East 
Diomede  is  a  similar  smaller  island,  on  which  the  granite  rock  is 
glaciated." 

1 36] 


Siberian  Adventures 

—  the  tops  of  the  islands  in  gloomy  storm-clouds; 
snow  to  the  water's  edge,  and  blocks  of  rugged  ice 
for  a  fringe;  then  the  black  water  dashing  against 
the  ice;  the  gray  sleety  sky,  the  screaming  water 
birds,  the  howling  wind,  and  the  blue  gathering 
sludge!  V 

We  now  pushed  on  through  the  strait  and  into 
the  Arctic  Ocean  without  encountering  any  ice, 
and  passed  Cape  Serdzekamen  this  afternoon 
[May  31].  The  weather  has  been  calm  and  toler- 
ably clear  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  enabling 
us  to  see  the  coast  now  and  then.  It  showed  hills 
of  moderate  height,  rising  here  and  there  to  moun- 
tains. 

About  twelve  miles  northwest  from  Cape  Serd- 
zekamen we  observed  a  marked  bluff  where  the 
shore  ice  seemed  narrower  than  elsewhere,  and  we 
approached,  intending  to  examine  it  with  reference 
to  landing  the  party  here.  When  we  were  within  a 
mile  of  it  we  saw  a  group  of  natives  signaling  us 
to  land  by  waving  something  over  their  heads. 
The  Captain,  Joe,  and  myself  got  on  the  ice  from 
the  boat,  and  began  to  scramble  over  it  toward  the 
bluff,  but  found  the  ice  very  rough  and  made  slow 
progress.  The  pack  is  made  up  of  a  crushed  mass 
of  blocks  and  pinnacles  tilted  at  every  angle  up  to 
a  height  of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet,  and  it  seemed 
to  become  rougher  and  more  impassable  as  we 
advanced. 

t37l 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Fortunately  we  discovered  a  group  of  natives  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  or  so  to  the  westward,  coming 
toward  the  ship,  when  we  returned  to  our  boat 
that  was  lying  at  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  went 
around  to  meet  them.  After  shaking  hands  with 
the  most  imposing  of  the  group  of  eight,  we  di- 
rected Joe  to  tell  them  the  object  we  had  in  coming, 
and  to  inquire  whether  two  of  their  number  would 
go  with  our  sledge  party  to  assist  in  driving  the 
teams.  One  of  them,  a  strapping  fellow  over  six 
feet  tall,  said  that  he  had  a  wife  and  four  boys  and 
two  girls  to  hunt  seals  for,  and  therefore  could  not 
go.  As  Joe  interpreted  ^him  in  whaler  English,  he 
was  "  already  hungry  like  hell."  Another  said  that 
the  journey  was  too  long  for  Am,  that  our  friends 
were  not  along  the  coast,  else  he  would  certainly 
have  heard  about  them,  and  therefore  the  journey 
would  be  vain.  We  urged  that  we  were  going  to 
seek  them  whether  they  were  to  be  found  or  not, 
and  that  if  they  would  go  with  us  we  would  leave 
more  food  for  their  families  than  they  could  get 
for  them  by  hunting. 

Two  of  the  number  at  length  consented  to  go, 
after  being  assured  that  we  would  pay  them  well, 
whether  the  journey  proved  successful  or  other- 
wise. Then  we  intimated  that  ^  we  would  like  to 
visit  their  village,  which  seemed  to  please  them; 
for  they  started  at  once  to  guide  us  over  the  hum- 
mocky  ice  to  where  they  had  left  their  dog-teams 

I  38] 


/ 


Siberian  Adventures 

and  sleds.  It  was  a  rough  scramble  at  best,  and 
even  the  natives  sHpped  at  times  and  hesitated 
cautiously  in  choosing  a  way,  while  we,  encum- 
bered with  overcoats  and  not  so  well  shod,  kept 
sinking  with  awkward  glints  and  slumps  into 
hopper-shaped  holloas  and  chasms  filled  with  snow. 
One  of  them  kindly  gave  me  his  balancing-stick.    ) 

Beyond  the  roughest  portion  of  the  himimock 
region  we  found  the  dogs,  nearly  a  hundred  of 
them,  with  eleven  sleds,  making,  as  they  lay  at 
their  ease,  an  imposing  picture  among  the  white 
ice.  Three  of  the  teams  were  straightened  out  and 
one  of  them  given  in  charge  of  Joe,  who  is  an  adept 
at  driving,  while  the  Captain  and  I  were  taken  on 
behind  the  drivers  of  the  other  two;  and  away  we 
sped  over  the  frozen  ceiling  of  the  sea,  two  rows  of 
tails  ahead. 

The  distance  to  the  village,  called  "Tapkan"  by 
the  natives,  was  about  three  miles,  the  first  mile 
very  rough  and  apparently  hopelessly  inaccessible 
to  sleds.  But  the  wolfish  dogs  and  drivers  seemed 
to  regard  it  all  as  a  regular  turnpike,  and  jogged 
merrily  on,  up  one  side  of  a  tilted  block  or  slab  and 
down  the  other  with  a  sudden  pitch  and  plunge, 
swishing  round  sideways  on  squinted  cakes,  and 
through  pools  of  water  and  sludge  in  blue,  craggy 
hollows,  on  and  on,  this  way  and  that,  with  never 
a  halt,  the  dogs  keeping  up  a  steady  jog  trot,  and 
the  leader  simply  looking  over  his  shoulder  occa- 

[  39  ] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

sionally  for  directions  in  the  worst  places.  The 
driver  admonished  them  with  loud  calls  of  "Hoora ! 
Hoora!  Shedack!  Shedack!  Knock!  Knock!"  but 
seldom  struck  them.  He  had  to  hold  himself  in 
constant  readiness  to  jump  off  and  hold  the  sled 
while  guiding  it  aroimd  sharp  angles  and  across 
the  high  cutting  ridges.  My  sled  was  not  upset  at 
all,  and  the  Captain's  only  twice. 

Part  of  our  way  was  across  the  mouth  of  a  bay 
on  smooth  ice  that  had  not  been  subjected  to  the 
mashing,  upheaving  strain  of  the  ocean  ice,  and 
over  this  we  glided  rapidly.  My  Chukchi  driver, 
now  that  he  had  no  care  about  the  upsetting  of  the 
sled,  frequently  turned  with  a  smile  and  did  his 
best  to  entertain  me,  though  he  did  not  under- 
stand a  word  of  English.  It  was  a  rare,  strange  ride 
for  us,  yet  accomplished  with  such  everyday  com- 
monplace confidence,  that  it  seemed  at  the  time  as 
if  this  might  be  the  only  mode  of  land  travel  in  the 
world. 

Some  teams  were  just  arriving  from  the  village 
as  we  were  going  to  it.  When  we  met,  the  dogs 
passed  each  other  to  right  or  left  as  they  were  told 
by  their  drivers,  who  kept  flourishing  a  whip  and 
jingling  some  iron  rings  that  were  tied  loosely  to 
one  end  of  a  short  stick  that  had  an  iron  goad  in 
the  other,  and  of  which  the  dogs  knew  the  use  all 
too  well.  They  are  as  steady  as  oxen,  each  keeping 
its  trace-line  tight,  and  showing  no  inclination  to 

[  40  ] 


Siberian  Adventures 

shirk  — utterly  unlike  the  illustrations  I  had  seen, 
in  which  all  are  represented  as  running  at  a  wild 
gallop  with  mouths  wide  open. 

The  village  is  built  on  a  sand-bar  pushed  up  by 
the  ice  on  the  west  side  of  a  narrow  bay.  I  counted 
twenty  huts  in  all.  When  we  drove  up,  the  women 
and  children,  and  a  few  old  men  who  had  not  been 
tempted  to  make  the  journey  to  the  ship,  came  out 
to  meet  us.  Captain  Hooper  went  [to  the  house 
belonging  to  his  driver,  I  to  the  one  belonging  to 
mine;  afterwards  we  joined  and  visited  in  com- 
pany. We  were  kindly  received  and  shown  to  good 
seats  on  reindeer  skins.  All  of  them  smiled  good- 
naturedly  when  we  shook  hands  with  them,  and 
tried  to  repeat  our  salutations.  When  we  discussed 
our  proposed  land  journey  the  women  eagerly 
joined  and  the  children  listened  attentively.  . 

We  inquired  about  the  Vega,  knowing  that  she 
had  wintered  hereabouts.  At  first  they  said  they 
knew  nothing  about  her;  that  no  ship  had  wintered 
here  two  years  ago.  Then,  as  if  suddenly  remem- 
bering, one  of  them  said  a  three-masted  ship,  a 
steamer  like  the  Corwin,  had  stopped  one  season 
in  the  ice  at  a  point  a  few  miles  east  of  the  village, 
and  had  gone  away  when  it  melted  in  the  summer. 
A  woman,  who  had  been  listening,  then  went  to  a 
box,  and  after  turning  it  over,  showed  us  a  spoon, 
fork,  and  pocket  compass  of  Russian  manufacture, 
which  she  said  the  captain  had  given  them. 

[41 1 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

The  huts  here  are  like  those  already  described, 
only  they  are  dry  because  of  the  porous  character 
of  the  ground.  Three  or  four  families  live  in  one 
each  having  a  private  polog  of  deerskins,  of  which 
there  are  several  thicknesses  on  the  floor.  We  were 
shown  into  one  —  the  snuggest  storm  nest  imagin- 
able, and  perfectly  clean.  The  common  hut  is  far 
otherwise;  dogs  mingle  with  the  food,  hair  is  every- 
where, and  strangely  persistent  smells  that  defy 
even  the  Arctic  frosts.  The  children  seemed  in 
fair  ratio  with  the  adults.  When  a  child  is  to  be 
nursed  the  mother  merely  pulls  out  one  of  her  arms 
from  the  roomy  sleeve  of  her  parka  and  pushes 
it  down  until  the  breast  is  exposed.  The  breasts 
are  pendulous  and  cylindrical,  like  those  of  the 
Tlingits. 

The  dishes  used  in  domestic  affairs  are  of  wood, 
and  in  the  smallest  of  these  the  puppies,  after  lick- 
ing them,  were  often  noticed  to  lie  down.  They 
seemed  made  specially  for  them,  so  well  did  they 
fit.  Dogs  were  eagerly  licking  the  large  kettles, 
also,  in  which  seal  meat  had  been  boiled.  They 
seemed  to  be  favored  in  these  establishments  like 
the  pigs  in  Irish  huts.  Spears,  lances,  guns  and  nets 
were  fastened  about  the  timbers  of  the  roof  and 
sides,  but  little  food  of  any  kind  was  visible.  A 
pot  was  swinging  over  a  small  fire  of  driftwood 
when  we  entered  one  of  the  huts,  and  an  old  dame 
was  stirring  it  occasionally,  and  roasting  seal  liver 

[42] 


Siberian  Adventures 

on  the  coals  beneath  It.  On  leaving  we  were  each 
presented  with  a  pair  of  fur  mittens. 

At  the  last  moment,  when  we  were  ready  to  re- 
turn to  the  ship,  one  of  the  men  we  had  engaged 
to  go  with  the  land  party  changed  his  mind  and 
concluded  to  stay  at  home.  The  other  stuck  to  his 
engagement,  though  evidently  feeling  sore  about 
leaving  his  family.  His  little  boy  cried  bitterly 
when  he  learned  that  his  father  was  going  away, 
and  refused  all  the  offers  made  by  the  women  to 
comfort  him.  After  we  had  sped  away  over  the  ice, 
half  a  mile  from  the  village,  we  could  still  hear  his 
screams.  Just  as  the  ship  was  about  to  weigh 
anchor,  the  second  man  again  offered  to  go  with  us, 
but  Joe  said  to  the  Captain,  "More  better  not  take 
that  fellow,  he  too  much  talk." 

The  group  of  lookers-on  congregated  on  the  edge 
of  the  Ice  was  very  picturesque  seen  from  the  ves- 
sel as  we  moved  away.  The  Chukchis  are  taller 
and  more  resolute-looking  people  than  the  Eskimos 
of  the  opposite  coast,  but  both  are  Mongols  and 
nearly  alike  in  dress  and  mode  of  life,  as  well  as 
in  religion. 

The  weather  is  promising  this  evening.  No  por- 
tion of  the  polar  pack  Is  In  sight,  and  we  mean  to 
push  on  westward  as  far  as  we  can  with  safety. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN   PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK 

Steamer  Conoin, 
Near  the  edge  of  the  shore  ice, 
opposite  Koliuchin  Island, 
6  P.M.,  June  2, 1881, 

AFTER  leaving  Tapkan,  twelve  miles  north- 
west of  Cape  Serdzekamen,  on  the  evening  of 
the  last  day  of  May,  we  steamed  along  the  coast 
to  the  westward,  tracing  the  edge  of  the  shore-ice, 
which  seemed  to  be  from  three  to  six  miles  wide. 
The  weather  was  tranquil,  though  rather  thick  at 
times,  and  the  water  was  like  glass  and  as  smooth 
as  a  mill-pond.  About  half-past  five  yesterday 
afternoon  we  reached  the  end  of  the  open  lead  that 
we  had  been  following,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
west  of  Cape  Serdzekamen,  latitude  68°  28'  N., 
longitude  175°  10'  W.,  having  thus  early  in  the 
season  gained  a  point  farther  west  than  the  Corwin 
was  able  to  reach  at  any  time  last  year. 

At  this  point  the  firm  coast  ice  united  with  the 
great  polar  pack,  and,  as  there  was  danger  of  its 
drifting  south  at  any  time  and  cutting  us  off,  we 
made  haste  to  the  eastward,  keeping  as  far  offshore 
as  possible,  that  we  might  be  able  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  pack.  About  seven  o'clock  last 
evening,  the  weather  becoming  thick,  the  engine 

[44I 


In  Peril  from  the  Pack 

was  stopped  and  the  vessel  was  allowed  to  proceed 
slowly  under  sail. 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  this  morning  I  was 
awakened  by  unusual  sounds  on  deck,  and  after 
listening  for  a  few  minutes,  concluded  that  we  must 
be  entangled  in  the  edge  of  the  pack  and  were  un- 
shipping the  rudder  for  fear  it  might  be  carried 
away.  Going  on  deck,  I  was  surprised  to  see  the 
broken  rudder  being  hoisted,  for  I  had  not  been 
awakened  by  the  blow.  The  oak  shaft  was  broken 
completely  off,  and  also  all  three  of  the  pintles. 
It  seems  that  about  midnight,  owing  to  the  fog  and 
snow,  we  got  into  a  field  of  heavy  masses  of  ice  on 
the  edge  of  the  main  pack,  which,  on  account  of  a 
north  wind  that  had  commenced  to  blow,  was  now 
moving  slowly  southward,  and  while  backing  out 
of  it,  a  moderate  bump  that  chanced  to  take  the 
rudder  at  the  greatest  disadvantage  broke  it  off 
without  any  appreciable  strain. 

The  situation  was  sufficiently  grave  and  excit- 
ing —  dark  weather,  the  wind  from  the  north  and 
freshening  every  minute,  and  the  vast  polar  pack 
pushing  steadily  shoreward.  It  was  a  cold,  bleak, 
stormy  morning,  with  a  close,  sweeping  fall  of  snow, 
that  encumbered  the  deck  and  ropes  and  nearly 
blinded  one  when  compelled  to  look  to  windward. 
Our  twenty-five  dogs  made  an  effective  addition 
to  the  general  uproar,  howling  as  only  Eskimo  dogs 
can.    They  were  in  the  way,  of  course,  and  were 

[45] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

heartily  kicked  hither  and  thither.  The  necessary 
orders,  however,  were  being  promptly  given  and 
obeyed.  As  soon  as  the  broken  rudder  was  secured 
on  deck,  four  long  spars  were  nailed  and  lashed 
firmly  together,  fastened  astern  and  weighted  to 
keep  them  in  place  at  the  right  depth  in  the  water. 
This  made  a  capital  jury-rudder.  It  was  worked 
by  ropes  attached  on  either  side  and  to  the  steam 
windlass.  The  whole  was  brought  into  complete 
working  order  in-  a  few  hours,  nearly  everybody 
rendering  service,  notwithstanding  the  blinding 
storm  and  peril,  as  if  jury-rudder  making  under 
just  these  circumstances  were  an  everyday  em- 
ployment. Then,  finding  everything  worked  well, 
we  made  our  escape  from  the  closing  ice  and  set  out 
for  Plover  Bay  to  repair  the  damage. 

About  four  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  clouds  lifted, 
we  sighted  Koliuchin  Island,  which  our  two  Chuk- 
chi natives  hailed  with  joyful,  beaming  eyes. 
Tliey  evidently  were  uneasy  because  of  the  acci- 
dent, and  on  account  of  being  so  long  out  of  sight 
of  land  —  a  state  of  mind  easily  explained  by  the 
dangers  attending  their  mode  of  life  among  the 
ice.  In  front  of  the  island  the  ice  seemed  to  be  two 
or  three  miles  wide  and  lavishly  roughened  with 
jammed,  angular  hummocks.  Captain  Hooper  was 
now  very  anxious  to  get  his  sledge  party  landed. 
Everything  was  ready  to  be  put  on  shore  as  soon 
as  a  safe  landing-place  should  be  discovered.   The 

[  46  ] 


In  Peril  from  the  Pack 

two  Chukchis  were  In  the  pilot-house  gazing  wist- 
fully at  the  gloomy  snow-covered  island  as  it 
loomed  up  in  the  gray,  stormy  sky  with  its  jagged 
reach  of  ice  in  the  foreground  beaten  by  the  waves. 

The  Captain  directed  Chukchi  Joe,  the  inter- 
preter, to  ask  his  companion,  the  dog-driver,  who 
was  familiar  with  the  condition  of  the  ice  on  this 
part  of  the  coast,  whether  this  was  a  good  point  on 
which  to  land.  His  answer,  as  interpreted  by  Joe, 
was :  "He  says  it's  good;  it's  pretty  good,  he  says." 
"Then  get  ready,  Mr.  Herring,  for  your  journey," 
ordered  the  Captain.  "  Here,  Quartermaster,  get 
the  provisions  on  deck."  "  Lower  the  boats  there." 
"Joe,  harness  the  dogs." 

In  a  few  minutes  all  was  in  readiness  and  in  the 
boats.  The  party  is  composed  of  First  Lieutenant 
Herring,  in  charge;  Third  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  a 
sailor^  and  the  two  Chukchis.  They  have  twenty- 
five  dogs,  four  sleds,  a  light  skin  boat  to  cross  rivers 
and  any  open  water  they  may  find  in  their  way, 
and  two  months'  provisions.  They  were  directed 
to  search  the  coast  as  far  to  the  westward  as  pos- 
sible for  the  crew  of  the  Jeannette  or  any  tidings 
concerning  the  fate  of  the  expedition;  to  interview 
the  natives  they  met;  to  explore  the  prominent  por- 
tions of  the  coast  for  cairns  and  signals  of  any  kind, 
and  to  return  to  Tapkan,  where  we  would  meet 
them,  while  in  the  mean  time  we  propose  to  cruise 
^  Coxswain  Gessler. 

1 47] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

wherever,  under  existing  conditions,  we  can  best 
carry  out  the  objects  of  the  expedition. 

The  party  and  all  their  equipments  were  carried 
from  the  vessel  to  the  ice  in  three  boats,  roped 
together  at  intervals  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet, 
the  life-boat  leading  with  the  party,  clothing, 
provisions,  etc.  Then  came  the  dinghey,  loaded 
nearly  to  the  water's  edge  with  the  dogs,  and  one 
man  to  thrash  them  and  keep  some  sort  of  order 
while  they  worried  each  other  and  raised  an  out- 
rageous noise,  on  account  of  their  uncomfortable, 
tumbled-together  condition.  And  last,  the  skin 
boat,  flying-light,  with  only  the  sleds  aboard  and 
one  man  to  steer,  the  whole  making  a  very  extra- 
ordinary show. 

Soon  after  the  boats  had  left,  while  we  were  still 
watching  the  tossing  fleet  from  the  pilot-house  and 
scanning  the  shore  with  reference  to  a  landing- 
place,  we  noticed  three  dark  objects  on  top  of  a 
hummock  near  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  just  back 
of  them  and  to  one  side  on  a  flat  portion  of  the  ice, 
a  group  of  black  dots.  These  proved  to  be  three 
natives  with  their  dog  teams.  They  were  out  hunt- 
ing seals,  and  had  descried  the  ship  with  their  sharp 
eyes  and  now  came  forward  to  gaze.  This  was  a 
glad  discovery  to  us,  and  no  doubt  still  more  so  to 
the  party  leaving  the  ship,  as  they  were  now  sure 
of  the  passable  state  of  the  ice,  and  would  have 
guides  with  local  knowledge  to  conduct  them  to  the 

[48  ] 


In  Peril  from  the  Pack 

land.  When  the  dogs  got  upon  the  ice,  their  native 
heath,  they  rolled  and  raced  about  in  exuberant 
sport.  The  rough  pack  was  home  sweet  home  to 
them,  though  a  more  forbidding  combination  of 
sky,  rough  water,  ice,  and  driving  snow  could 
hardly  be  imagined  by  the  sunny  civilized  south. 

After  all  were  safely  knded  and  our  boats  had 
returned,  we  went  on  our  way,  while  the  land  party, 
busied  about  their  sled-packing  and  dogs,  gradu- 
ally faded  in  the  snowy  gloom.  All  seems  well  this 
evening;  no  ice  is  in  sight  to  the  northward,  and 
the  jury-rudder  is  working  extremely  well. 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
En  route  southward,  to  Plover  Bay.] 

Junes.  Snowing  nearly  all  day.  Cleared  towards 
four  in  the  afternoon.  Spoke  the  Helen  Mar;  had 
taken  five  whales;  another  had  already  nine.  Seven 
other  whalers  in  sight,  all  of  them  save  two  smok- 
ing like  steamers.  They  are  trying  out  their  abun- 
dant blubber;  in  danger  of  being  blubber-logged. 
Saw  an  Indian  ^  canoe  leaving  the  Helen  Mar  as  we 
approached;  probably  had  been  trading,  the  sea 
being  smooth. 

Had  a  good  view  of  the  two  Diomedes;  the  west- 
ern one  is  very  distinctly  glaciated,  nearly  all  of 
the  summit  being  comprehended  in  one  beauti- 

1  Mr.  Muir  often  applies  this  term  to  the  Bering  Sea  natives  in 
general,  whether  Innuits  or  Chukchis. 

[49] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

furice-fountain5''giving  it  a  craterlike  form.  The 
residual  glacial  action,  however,  has  been  light, 
comparatively,  here.  No  deep  canons  putting  back 
into  the  mountains,  most  of  which  are  low.  It  is 
interesting,  however,  to  see  undoubted  traces  both 
of  general  and  local  glaciation  thus  far  north,  where 
the  ground  is  in  general  rather  low.  Came  up  to  the 
ice-pack  about  ten  in  the  evening,  so  turned  back 
and  lay  to. 

June  4,  Calm,  bland,  foggy  water,  glassy  and 
still  as  a  mill-pond.  Cleared  so  that  one  could  see 
a  mile  ahead  at  ten  o'clock,  and  we  got  under  way. 
Sun  nearly  clear  for  the  first  day  since  coming  into 
the  Arctic.  Mild,  too,  for  it  is  45°  F.  at  noon;  even 
seemed  hot.  The  clouds  lifted  from  the  mountains, 
shc»wing  their  bases  and  slopes  up  to  a  thousand 
feet;  summits  capped.  East  Cape  in  fine  view;  high 
headland  still  streaked  with  snow  nearly  to  the 
base;  summit  white  at  close  range.  All  the  coast 
for  at  least  two  hundred  miles  west  of  East  Cape 
shows  distinct  glaciation,  both  general  and  local. 
Many  glacier  fountains  well  characterized.  Indian 
village  off  here.  Were  boarded  by  three  canoe  loads 
of  Indian  seal  hunters  from  East  Cape  village. 
They  traded  ivory  and  shoes,  called  "  susy  "  by  their 
interpreter.  We  were  anxious  to  tell  them  about 
our  sledge  party  and  inquired  of  one  who  spoke  a 
few  words  of  English  whether  any  of  their  number 
could  speak  good  English.   He  seemed  to  think  us 

[  50] 


In  Peril  from  the  Pack 

very  unreasonable,  and  said,  "Me  speak  good." 
Got  a  female  eider  duck;  very  fat.  In  one  of  the 
canoes  there  was  a  very  large  seal,  weighing  per- 
haps four  hundred  pounds. 

This  has  been  by  far  the  most  beautiful  and 
gentle  of  our  Arctic  days,  the  water  perfectly 
glassy  and  with  no  swell,  mirroring  the  sky,  which 
shows  a  few  blue  cloudless  spots,  white  as  satin 
near  the  horizon,  of  beautiful  luster,  trying  to 
the  eyes.  More  whalers  in  sight.  Gulls  skimming 
the  glassy  level.  Innumerable  multitudes  of  eider 
ducks,  the  snowy  shore,  and  all  the  highest  moun- 
tains cloud-capped  —  a  rare  picture  and  perfectly 
tranquil  and  peaceful!  God's  love  is  manifest  in 
the  landscape  as  in  a  face.  How  unlike  yesterday! 
In  the  evening  a  long  approach  to  sunset,  a  red  sky 
mingling  with  brown  and  white  of  the  ice-blink. 
Growing  colder  towards  midnight.  There  is  no 
night  at  all  now;  only  a  partial  gloaming;  never, 
even  in  cloudy  midnights,  too  dark  to  read.  So  for 
more  than  a  week.  Ice  in  sight,  but  hope  to  pass 
it  by  running  a  few  miles  to  shore.  Are  now,  at 
half-past  eleven  in  the  evening,  beyond  St.  Law- 
rence Bay.  Hope  to  get  into  Plover  Bay  to-morrow 
morning  at  six  o'clock. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

Steamer  Cortvtn, 
St.  Lawrence  Bay,  Siberia,  June  6,  1881. 

YESTERDAY  morning  at  half-past  one  o'clock, 
when  we  were  within  twenty-five  miles  of 
Plover  Bay,  where  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  repair 
our  rudder,  we  found  that  the  ice-pack  was  crowd- 
ing us  closer  and  closer  inshore,  and  that  in  our 
partly  disabled  condition  it  would  not  be  safe  to 
proceed  farther.  Accordingly  we  turned  back  and 
put  into  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  to  await  some  favor- 
able movement  in  the  ice. 

We  dropped  anchor  at  half-past  seven  in  the 
morning  opposite  a  small  Chukchi  settlement.  In 
a  few  hours  the  wind  began  to  blow  fresh  from  the 
north,  steadily  increasing  in  force,  until  at  eight 
in  the  evening  it  was  blowing  a  gale,  and  we  were 
glad  that  we  were  in  a  good  harbor  instead  of  being 
out  at  sea,  slashing  and  tumbling  about  with  a 
broken  rudder  among  the  wind-driven  ice.  It  also 
rained  and  snowed  most  of  the  afternoon,  the  blue 
and  gray  sleet  mingling  in  grand  uproar  with  the 
white  scud  swept  from  the  crests  of  the  waves, 
making  about  as  stormy  and  gloomy  an  atmo- 
sphere as  I  ever  had  the  fortune  to  breathe.  Now 
and  then  the  clouds  broke  and  lifted  their  ragged 

[  52  1 


A  Chukchi  Orator 

edges  high  enough  to  allow  the  mountains  along 
the  sides  and  around  the  head  of  the  bay  to  be 
dimly  seen,  not  so  dimly,  however,  as  to  hide  the 
traces  of  the  heavy  glaciation  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected.  This  long  bay,  as  shown  by  its 
trends,  its  relation  to  the  ice-fountains  at  its  head 
and  the  sculpture  of  its  walls,  is  a  glacial  fiord  that 
only  a  short  time  ago  was  the  channel  of  a  glacier 
that  poured  a  deep  and  broad  flood  into  Bering 
Sea,  in  company  with  a  thousand  others  north  and 
south  along  the  Siberian  coast.  The  more  I  see  of 
this  region  the  more  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
all  of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait  is  a  glacial  excavation. 

In  a  party  of  natives  that  came  aboard  soon  after 
we  had  dropped  anchor,  we  discovered  the  remark- 
able Chukchi  orator,  Jaroochah,  whose  acquaint- 
ance we  made  at  the  settlement  on  the  other  side 
of  the  bay,  during  our  first  visit,  and  who  had  so 
vividly  depicted  the  condition  of  the  lost  whaler 
Vigilant.  To-day,  after  taking  up  a  favorable  posi- 
tion in  the  pilot-house,  he  far  surpassed  his  pre- 
vious efforts,  pouring  forth  Chukchi  in  overwhelm- 
ing torrents,  utterly  oblivious  of  the  presence  of  his 
rival,  the  howling  gale. 

During  a  sudden  pause  in  the  midst  of  his  vol- 
canic eloquence  he  inquired  whether  we  had  rum 
to  trade  for  walrus  ivory,  whereupon  we  explained, 
in  total  abstinence  phrase,  that  rum  was  very  bad 
stuff  for  Chukchis,  and  by  way  of  illustration  re- 

[  S3  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

lated  its  sad  effects  upon  the  Eskimo  natives  of 
St.  Lawrence  Island.  Nearly  all  the  natives  we 
have  thus  far  met  admitted  very  readily  that  whis- 
key was  not  good  for  them.  But  Jaroochah  was  not 
to  be  so  easily  silenced,  for  he  at  once  began  an 
anti-temperance  argument  in  saloon-and-moderate- 
drinker  style,  explaining  with  vehement  gestures 
that  some  whiskey  was  good,  some  bad ;  that  he 
sometimes  drank  five  cupfuls  of  the  good  article 
in  quick  succession,  the  effect  of  which  was  greatly 
to  augment  his  happiness,  while  out  of  a  small 
bottle  of  the  bad  one,  a  small  glass  made  him  sick. 
And  as  for  whiskey  or  rum  causing  people  to  die, 
he  knew,  he  said,  that  that  was  a  lie,  for  he  had 
drunk  much  himself,  and  he  had  a  brother  who 
had  enjoyed  a  great  deal  of  whiskey  on  board  of 
whalers  for  many  years,  and  that  though  now  a 
gray  old  man  he  was  still  alive  and  happy. 

This  speech  was  warmly  applauded  by  his  lis- 
tening companions,  indicating  a  public  opinion 
that  offers  but  little  hope  of  success  for  the  efforts 
of  temperance  societies  among  the  Chukchis.  Cap- 
tain Hooper,  the  surgeon,  and  myself  undertook 
to  sketch  the  orator,  who,  when  he  had  gravely 
examined  our  efforts,  laughed  boisterously  at  one 
of  them,  which,  in  truth,  was  a  slanderous  carica- 
ture of  even  his  countenance,  villainous  as  it  was. 

In  trading  his  ivory  for  supplies  of  some  sort, 
other  than  alcohol,  he  tried  to  extract  some  trifling 

I  54] 


A  Chukchi  Orator 

article  above  what  had  been  agreed  on,  when  the 
trader  threatened  to  have  nothing  further  to  do 
with  him  on  account  of  the  trouble  he  was  making. 
This  set  the  old  chief  on  his  dignity,  and  he  made 
haste  to  declare  that  he  was  a  good  and  honorable 
man,  and  that  in  case  the  trade  was  stopped  he 
would  give  back  all  he  had  received  and  go  home, 
leaving  his  ivory  on  the  deck  heedless  of  what 
became  of  it.  The  woman  of  the  party,  perhaps 
eighteen  years  of  age,  merry  and  good-looking, 
went  among  the  sailors  and  danced,  sang,  and 
joked  with  them. 

The  gale  increased  in  violence  up  to  noon  to-day, 
when  it  began  to  abate  slightly,  and  this  evening  it 
is  still  blowing  hard.  The  Corwin  commenced  to 
drag  her  anchor  shortly  after  midnight,  when  an- 
other that  was  kept  in  readiness  was  let  go  with 
plenty  of  chain,  which  held,  so  that  we  rode  out 
the  gale  in  safety.  The  whalers  Francis  Palmer  and 
Hidalgo  came  into  the  bay  last  evening  from  Bering 
Strait  and  anchored  near  us.  This  morning  the 
Hidalgo  had  vanished,  having  probably  parted  her 
cable. 

Last  evening  a  second  party  of  natives  came 
aboard,  having  made  their  way  around  the  head  of 
the  bay  or  over  the  ice.  Both  parties  remained  on 
board  all  night  as  they  were  unable  to  reach  the 
shore  in  their  light  skin  boats  against  the  wind. 
Being  curious  to  see  how  they  were  enduring  the 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

cold,  I  went  on  deck  early.  They  seemed  scarcely 
to  feel  it  at  all,  for  I  found  most  of  them  lying  on 
the  deck  amid  the  sludge  and  sleeping  soundly  in 
the  clothes  they  wore  during  the  day.  Three  of 
them  were  sleeping  on  the  broken  rudder,  swept 
by  the  icy  wind  and  sprinkled  with  snow  and  frag- 
ments of  ice  that  were  falling  from  the  rigging, 
their  heads  and  necks  being  nearly  bare. 

I  inquired  why  their  reindeer  parkas  were  made 
without  hoods,  while  those  of  the  Eskimos  of  St. 
Lawrence  Island  had  them;  observing  that  they 
seemed  far  more  comfortable  in  stormy  weather, 
because  they  kept  the  head  and  neck  warm  and 
dry.  They  replied  that  they  had  to  hunt  hard  and 
look  quick  all  about  them  for  a  living,  therefore  it 
was  necessary  to  keep  their  heads  free;  while  the 
St.  Lawrence  Eskimos  were  la2y,  and  could  indulge 
in  effeminate  habits.  They  gave  the  same  reason 
for  cutting  off  most  of  the  hair  close  to  the  scalps, 
while  the  women  wear  the  hair  long. 

One  of  their  number  was  very  dirty,  and  Captain 
Hooper,  who  is  becoming  interested  in  glacial 
studies,  declared  that  he  had  discovered  two  ter- 
minal moraines  In  his  ears.  When  asked  why  he 
did  not  wash  himself,  our  interpreter  replied,  "Be- 
cause he  is  an  old  fellow,  and  it  is  too  much  work 
to  wash."  This  was  given  with  an  air  of  having 
explained  the  matter  beyond  further  question. 
Considering  the  necessities  of  the  lives  they  lead, 

[56] 


A  Chukchi  Orator 

most  of  these  people  seem  remarkably  clean  and 
well-dressed  and  well-behaved. 

The  old  orator  poured  forth  his  noisy  eloquence 
late  and  early,  like  a  perennial  mountain  spring, 
some  of  his  deep  chest  tones  sounding  in  the  storm 
like  the  roar  of  a  lion.  He  rolled  his  wolfish  eyes 
and  tossed  his  brown  skinny  limbs  in  a  frantic 
storm  of  gestures,  now  suddenly  foreshortening 
himself  to  less  than  half  his  height,  then  shooting 
aloft  with  jack-in-the-box  rapidity,  while  his  peo- 
ple looked  on  and  listened,  apparently  half  in  fear, 
half  in  admiration.  We  directed  the  interpreter  to 
tell  him  that  we  thought  him  a  good  man,  and  were, 
therefore,  concerned  lest  some  accident  might  befall 
him  from  so  much  hard  speaking.  The  Chukchis, 
as  well  as  the  Eskimos  we  have  seen,  are  keenly 
sensitive  to  ridicule,  and  this  suggestion  discon- 
certed him  for  a  moment  and  made  a  sudden  pause. 
However,  he  quickly  recovered  and  got  under  way 
again,  like  a  wave  withdrawing  on  a  shelving  shore, 
only  to  advance  and  break  again  with  gathered 
force. 

The  chief  man  of  the  second  party  from  the  other 
side  of  the  bay  is  owner  of  a  herd  of  reindeer,  which 
he  said  were  now  feeding  among  the  mountains  at 
a  distance  of  one  sleep  —  a  day's  journey  —  from 
the  head  of  a  bay  to  the  south  of  here.  He  readily 
indicated  the  position  on  a  map  that  we  spread 
before  him,  and  offered  to  take  us  to  see  them  on 

I  57  1 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

a  sled  drawn  by  reindeer,  and  to  sell  us  as  many 
skins  and  as  much  meat  as  we  cared  to  buy.  When 
we  asked  how  many  reindeer  he  had,  all  who  heard 
the  question  laughed  at  the  idea  of  counting  so 
many.  "They  cover  a  big  mountain,"  he  said 
proudly,  "and  nobody  can  count  them."  He 
brought  a  lot  of  ivory  to  trade  for  tobacco,  but  said 
nothing  about  it  until  the  afternoon.  Then  he  sig- 
nified his  readiness  for  business  after  awakening 
from  a  sound  sleep  on  the  wet  icy  deck. 

Shortly  after  we  had  breakfasted,  the  reindeer 
chief  having  intimated  that  he  and  his  friends  were 
hungry,  the  Captain  ordered  a  large  pot  of  tea, 
with  hardtack,  sugar  and  molasses,  to  be  served  to 
them  in  the  pilot-house.  They  ate  with  dignified 
deliberation,  showing  no  unseemly  haste,  but  eat- 
ing rather  like  people  accustomed  to  abundance. 
Jaroochah,  who  could  hardly  stem  his  eloquence 
even  while  eating,  was  particular  about  having  his 
son  invited  in  to  share  the  meal;  also,  two  boys 
about  eight  years  old,  giving  as  a  reason,  "they 
are  little  ones."  We  also  called  in  a  young  woman, 
perhaps  about  eighteen  years  old,  but  none  of  the 
men  present  seemed  to  care  whether  she  shared 
with  them  or  not,  and  when  we  inquired  the  cause 
of  this  neglect,  telling  them  that  white  men  always 
served  the  ladies  first,  Jaroochah  said  that  while 
girls  were  "little  fellows"  their  parents  looked 
after  them,  but  when  they  grew  big  they  went  away 

[58] 


A  Chukchi  Orator 

from  their  parents  with  "some  other  fellow,"  and 
were  of  no  more  use  to  them  and  could  look  out  for 
themselves. 

Those  who  were  not  invited  to  this  meal  did  not 
seem  to  mind  it  much,  for  they  had  brought  with 
them  plenty  of  what  the  whalers  call  "black  skin" 
—  the  skin  of  the  right  whale  —  which  is  about  an 
inch  thick,  and  usually  has  from  half  an  inch  to  an 
inch  of  blubber  attached.  This  I  saw  them  eating 
raw  with  hearty  relish,  snow  and  sludge  the  only 
sauce,  cutting  off  angular  blocks  of  it  with  butcher- 
knives,  while  one  end  of  the  tough  black  rubber- 
like mass  was  being  held  in  the  left  hand,  the  other 
between  their  teeth.  Long  practice  enables  them  to 
cut  off  mouthfuls  in  this  way  without  cutting  their 
lips,  although  they  saw  their  long  knives  back  and 
forth,  close  to  their  faces,  as  if  playing  the  violin. 
They  get  the  whale  skin  from  the  whalers,  except- 
ing the  little  they  procure  themselves.  They  hunt 
the  whale  now  with  lances  and  gear  of  every  kind 
bought  from  the  whalers,  and  sometimes  succeed 
in  killing  a  good  many.  They  eat  the  carcass,  and 
save  the  bone  to  trade  to  the  whalers,  who  are 
eager  to  get  it. 

After  the  old  orator  left  the  steamer,  the  reindeer 
man  accused  him  of  being  "  a  bad  fellow,  like  a 
dog."  He  evidently  was  afraid  that  we  were  being 
fooled  by  his  overwhelming  eloquence  into  believ- 
ing that  he  was  a  great  man,  while  the  precious 

[59] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

truth  to  be  impressed  upon  us  was,  that  he,  the 
reindeer  man,  whose  herd  covers  a  big  mountain, 
was  the  trup  chief.  I  asked  his  son,  who  speaks  a 
little  English,  why  he  did  not  make  a  trip  to  San 
Francisco,  to  see  the  white  man's  big  town.  He 
replied,  as  many  a  civilized  man  does  under  similar 
circumstances,  that  he  had  a  little  boy,  too  little  to 
be  left,  and  too  little  to  leave  home,  but  that  soon 
he  would  be  a  big  fellow,  so  high,  indicating  the 
hoped-for  stature  with  his  hand,  then  he  would  go 
to  San  Francisco  on  some  whale-ship,  to  see  where 
all  the  big  ships  and  good  whiskey  came  from. 

These  [Chukchis]  also  had  heard  the  story  of  the 
Vigilant.  The  reindeer  man's  son  is  going  with  us 
to  Plover  Bay  to  look  after  some  of  his  father's 
debtors.  He  has  been  supplying  them  with  tobacco 
and  other  goods  on  credit,  and  he  thought  it  time 
they  were  paying  up.  His  little  boy,  he  told  us,  was 
sick  —  had  a  hot,  sore  head  that  throbbed,  show- 
ing with  his  hand  how  it  beat  in  aching  pulses,  and 
asked  for  medicine,  which  the  surgeon  gave  him 
with  necessary  directions,  greatly  to  his  relief  of 
mind,  it  seemed. 

Around  the  shore  opposite  our  anchorage  the 
ground  is  rather  low,  where  the  ancient  glacier  that 
filled  the  bay  swept  over  in  smooth  curves,  break- 
ing off  near  the  shore,  an  abrupt  wall  from  seventy 
to  a  hundred  feet  high.  Against  this  wall  the  pre- 
vailing north  winds  have  piled  heavy  drifts  of  snow 

[60] 


A  Chukchi  Orator 

that  curve  over  the  bluff  at  the  top  and  slope  out 
over  the  fixed  ice  along  the  shore  from  the  base. 
The  gale  has  been  loosening  and  driving  out  past 
the  vessel,  without  doing  us  any  harm,  large  masses 
of  the  ice,  capped  with  the  edge  of  the  drift.  One 
large  piece  drifted  close  past  the  steamer  and 
immediately  in  front  of  a  large  skin  canoe  capable 
of  carrying  thirty  men.  The  canoe,  which  was  tied 
to  the  stern  of  the  ship,  we  thought  was  doomed  to 
be  carried  away.  The  owners  looked  wistfully  over 
the  stern,  watching  her  fate,  while  the  sailors 
seemed  glad  of  the  bit  of  excitement  caused  by 
the  hope  of  an  accident  that  would  cost  them 
nothing.  Greatly  to  our  surprise,  however,  when 
the  berg,  rough  and  craggy,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high, 
struck  her  bow,  she  climbed  up  over  the  top  of  it, 
and,  dipping  on  the  other  side,  glided  down  with  a 
graceful,  launching  swoop  into  the  water,  like  a 
living  thing,  wholly  uninjured.  The  sealskin  buffer, 
fixed  in  front  and  inflated  like  a  bladder,  no  doubt 
greatly  facilitated  her  rise.  She  was  tied  by  a  line 
of  walrus  hide. 

Now  that  the  wind  is  abating,  we  hope  to  get 
away  from  here  to-morrow  morning,  and  expect  to 
find  most  of  the  ice  that  stopped  our  progress  yes- 
terday broken  up  and  driven  southward  far  enough 
to  enable  us  to  reach  Plover  Bay  without  further 
difficulty. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

Steamer  Convin, 
Plover  Bay,  June  is,  1881. 

WE  left  our  anchorage  in  St.  Lawrence  Bay  at 
four  in  the  morning,  June  7,  and  steered 
once  more  for  Plover  Bay.  The  norther  that  had 
been  blowing  so  long  gave  place  to  a  light  southerly 
breeze,  and  a  gentle  dusting  of  snow  was  falling. 
In  the  afternoon  the  sea  became  smooth  and  glassy 
as  a  mountain  lake,  and  the  clouds  lifted,  gradu- 
ally unveiling  the  Siberian  coast  up  to  the  tops  of 
the  mountains.  First  the  black  bluffs,  standing 
close  to  the  water,  came  in  sight;  then  the  white 
slopes,  and  then  one  summit  after  another  until  a 
continuous  range  forty  or  fifty  miles  long  could  be 
seen  from  one  point  of  view,  forming  a  very  beauti- 
ful landscape.  Smooth,  dull,  dark  water  in  the  fore- 
ground; next,  a  broad  belt  of  ice  mostly  white  like 
snow,  with  numerous  masses  of  blue  and  black 
shade  among  its  jagged,  uplifted  blocks.  Then  a 
strip  of  comparatively  low  shore,  black  and  gray; 
and  back  of  that  the  pure  white  mountains,  with 
only  here  and  there  dark  spots,  where  the  rock 
faces  are  too  steep  for  snow  to  He  upon.  Sharp 
peaks  were  seen,  fluted  by  avalanches;  glacier 

[62] 


Eskimos  and  Walrus 

wombs,  delicate  in  curve  and  outline  as  shells; 
rounded,  overswept  brows  and  domes,  and  long, 
withdrawing  valleys  leading  back  into  the  highest 
alpine  groups,  whence  flowed  noble  glaciers  in 
imposing  ranks  into  what  is  now  Bering  Sea. 

We  had  hoped  the  gale  had  broken  and  driven 
away  the  floe  that  barred  our  way  on  the  fifth  [of 
June],  but  while  yet  thirty  miles  from  the  entrance 
of  the  bay  we  were  again  stopped  by  an  immense 
field  of  heavy  ice  that  stretched  from  the  shore 
southeastward  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  We 
pushed  slowly  into  the  edge  of  it  a  few  miles,  look- 
ing for  some  opening,  but  the  man  in  the  crow's 
nest  reported  it  all  solid  ahead  and  no  water  in 
sight.  We  thereupon  steamed  out  and  steered 
across  to  St.  Lawrence  Island  to  bide  our  time. 

While  sailing  amid  the  loose  blocks  of  ice  that 
form  the  edge  of  the  pack,  we  saw  a  walrus,  and 
soon  afterward  a  second  one  with  its  young.  The 
Captain  shot  and  killed  the  mother  from  the  pilot- 
house, and  the  dinghey  was  lowered  to  tow  it  along- 
side. The  eyes  of  our  Indian  passengers  sparkled 
with  delight  in  expectation  of  good  meat  after 
enduring  poor  fare  aboard  the  ship.  After  floating 
for  eight  or  ten  minutes  she  sank  to  the  bottom  and 
was  lost —  a  sad  fate  and  a  luckless  deed. 

It  was  pitiful  to  see  the  young  one  swimming 
around  its  dying  mother,  heeding  neither  the  ship 
nor  the  boat.  They  are  said  to  be  very  affectionate 

[63  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

and  bold  in  the  defense  of  one  another  against  every 
enemy  whatever.  We  have  as  yet  seen  but  few, 
though  in  some  places  they  are  found  in  countless 
thousands.  Many  vessels  are  exclusively  employed 
in  killing  them  on  the  eastern  Greenland  coast,  and 
along  some  portions  of  the  coast  of  Asia.  Here  also, 
the  whalers,  when  they  have  poor  success  in  whal- 
ing, devote  themselves  to  walrus  hunting,  both  for 
the  oil  they  yield  and  for  the  valuable  ivory.  The 
latter  is  worth  from  forty  to  seventy  cents  per 
pound  in  San  Francisco,  and  a  pair  of  large  tusks 
weighs  from  eight  to  ten  pounds. 

Along  all  the  coasts,  both  of  Asia  and  of  Amer- 
ica, the  natives  hunt  and  kill  this  animal,  which  to 
them  is  hardly  less  important  for  food  and  other 
uses  than  the  seals.  A  large  walrus  is  said  to  weigh 
from  one  to  two  tons.  Its  tough  hide  is  used  for 
cordage,  and  to  cover  canoes.  The  flesh  is  excellent, 
while  the  ivory  formerly  was  employed  for  spear 
heads  and  other  uses,  and  is  now  an  important 
article  of  trade  for  guns,  ammunition,  calico, 
bread,  flour,  molasses,  etc.  The  natives  now  kill  a 
good  many  whales,  having  obtained  lances  and 
harpoons  from  the  whites.  Bone,  in  good  years, 
is  more  important  than  the  ivory,  and  furs  are 
traded,  also,  in  considerable  quantity.  By  all  these 
means  they  obtain  more  of  the  white  man's  goods 
than  is  well  used.  They  probably  were  better  off 
before  they  were  possessed  of  a  single  civilized 

[  64  ] 


Eskimos  and  Walrus 

blessing  —  so  many  are  the  evils  accompanying 
them! 

Our  Chukchi  passenger  does  not  appear  to  en- 
tertain a  very  good  opinion  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
natives.  He  advised  the  Captain  to  keep  a  close 
watch  of  those  he  allowed  to  come  aboard.  We 
asked  him  to-day  the  Chukchi  name  of  ice,  which 
he  gave  as  "eigleegle."  When  we  said  that  another 
of  his  people  called  it  "tingting,"  he  replied  that 
that  was  the  way  poor  common  people  spoke  the 
word,  but  that  rich  people,  the  upper  aristocratic 
class  to  which  he  belonged,  called  it  "eigleegle." 
His  father,  being  a  rich  man,  had  three  wives;  most 
of  his  tribe,  he  said,  have  only  one. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  still  more 
than  an  hour's  run  from  St.  Lawrence  Island, 
though  according  to  reckoning  we  should  have 
reached  the  northeast  end  of  the  island  at  eight 
o'clock.  We  had  been  carried  north  about  sixteen 
miles,  since  leaving  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  by  the  cur- 
rent setting  through  the  Strait.  The  water,  having 
been  driven  south  by  the  north  gale,  was  pouring 
north  with  greater  velocity  than  ordinary.  The  sky 
was  a  mass  of  dark,  grainless  cloud,  banded  slightly 
near  the  northwest  horizon;  one  band,  a  degree  in 
breadth  above  the  sun,  was  deep  indigo,  with  a  few 
short  streaks  of  orange  and  red.  We  have  not  seen 
a  star  since  leaving  San  Francisco,  and  have  seen 
the  sun  perfectly  cloudless  only  once!  We  came  to 

[6s  ] 


l^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

anchor  near  the  northwest  end  of  the  island  about 
midnight. 

The  next  day,  the  eighth  of  June,  was  calm  and 
mild.  A  canoe  with  ten  men  and  women  came  along- 
side this  morning,  just  arrived  from  Plover  Bay, 
on  their  way  home.  They  made  signs  of  weariness, 
having  pulled  hard  against  this  heavy  current.  The 
distance  is  fifty  miles.  It  is  not  easy  to  understand 
how  they  manage  to  find  their  way  in  thick  weather, 
when  it  is  difficult  enough  for  seamen  with  charts 
and  compass. 

In  trying  to  account  for  the  observed  similarity 
between  the  peoples  of  the  opposite  shores  of  Asia 
and  America,  and  the  faunas  and  floras,  scientists 
have  long  been  combating  a  difficulty  that  does  not 
exist  save  in  their  own  minds.  They  have  suggested 
that  canoes  and  ships  from  both  shores  either  were 
wrecked  and  drifted  from  one  to  the  other,  or  that 
natives  crossed  on  the  ice  which  every  year  fills 
Bering  Strait.  As  to-day,  so  from  time  immemo- 
rial canoes  have  crossed  for  trade  or  mere  pleasure, 
steering  by  the  swell  of  the  sea  when  out  of  sight  of 
land.  As  to  crossing  on  the  ice,  the  natives  tell  me 
that  they  frequently  go  with  their  dog-sleds  from 
the  Siberian  side  to  the  Diomedes,  those  half-way 
houses  along  the  route,  but  seldom  or  never  from 
the  Diomedes  to  the  American  side,  on  account  of 
the  movements  of  the  ice.  But,  though  both  means 
of  communication,  assumed  to  account  for  dis- 


Eskimos  and  Walrus 

tribution  as  it  is  found  to  exist  to-day,  were  left 
out,  land  communication  in  any  case  undoubtedly 
existed,  just  previous  to  the  glacial  period,  as  far 
south  as  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  northward  be- 
yond the  mouth  of  the  Strait. 

While  groping  in  the  dense  fogs  that  hang  over 
this  region,  sailors  find  their  way  at  times  by  the 
flight  of  the  innumerable  sea-birds  that  come  and 
go  from  the  sea  to  the  shore.  The  direction,  at 
least,  of  the  land  is  indicated,  which  is  very  impor- 
tant in  the  case  of  small  islands.  How  the  birds  find 
their  way  is  a  mystery. 

This  canoe  alongside  was  "two  sleeps"  in  mak- 
ing the  passage.  Time,  I  suppose,  is  reckoned  by 
sleeps  during  summer,  as  there  is  no  night  and  only 
one  day.  They  at  once  began  to  trade  eagerly, 
seeming  to  fear  that  they  would  be  left  unvisited, 
now  that  the  whalers  have  all  gone  to  the  Arctic. 
In  the  forenoon,  after  the  natives  had  left,  we  took 
advantage  of  the  calm  weather  to  go  in  search  of 
the  wrecked  Lolita,  which  went  ashore  last  fall  a 
few  miles  to  the  north  of  here.  On  the  way  we 
passed  through  a  good  deal  of  ice  in  flat  cakes  that 
had  been  formed  in  a  deep  still  bay,  sheltered  from 
floating  ice  which  jams  and  packs  it.  This  ice  did 
not  seem  to  be  more  than  two  or  three  feet  thick, 
possibly  the  depth  to  which  it  froze  last  winter  less 
the  amount  melted  and  evaporated  since  spring 
commenced. 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Walruses,  in  groups  numbering  from  two  to 
fifty,  were  lying  on  cakes  of  ice.  They  were  too  shy, 
however,  to  be  approached  within  shooting  range, 
though  many  attempts  were  made.  Some  of  the 
animals  were  as  bulky,  apparently,  as  oxen.  They 
would  awaken  at  the  sound  of  the  vessel  crunching 
through  the  loose  ice,  lift  their  heads  and  rear  as 
high  as  possible,  then  drop  or  plunge  into  the  water. 
The  ponderous  fellows  took  headers  in  large  groups; 
twenty  pairs  of  flippers  sometimes  were  in  the  air 
at  once.  They  can  stay  under  water  five  or  six 
minutes,  then  come  up  to  blow.  If  they  are  near 
the  ship  they  dive  again  instantly,  going  down  like 
porpoises,  always  exposing  a  large  curving  mass  of 
their  body  while  dropping  their  heads,  and,  lastly, 
their  flippers  are  stretched  aloft  for  an  instant. 
Sometimes  they  show  fight,  make  combined  attacks 
on  boats,  and  defend  one  another  bravely.  The 
cakes  on  which  they  congregate  are  of  course  very 
dirty,  and  show  to  a  great  distance.  Since  they  soon 
sink  when  killed  in  the  water,  they  are  hunted 
mostly  on  the  ice,  and,  when  it  is  rough  and  hum- 
mocky,  are  easily  approached. 

We  were  not  successful  in  finding  the  Lolita,  so 
we  steamed  back  to  our  anchorage  in  the  lee  of 
a  high  bluff  near  the  Eskimo  village.  Soon  three 
or  four  canoes  came  alongside,  loaded  with  furs, 
ivory  and  whalebone.  Molasses,  which  they  carry 
away  in  bladders  and  seal  skins,  is  with  them  a 

[  68  ] 


Eskimos  and  JValrus 

favorite  article  of  trade.  Mixed  with  flour  and 
blocks  of  "black  skin,"  it  is  esteemed,  by  Eskimo 
palates,  a  dish  fit  for  the  gods.  A  group  of  listeners 
laughed  heartily  when  I  described  a  mixture  that 
I  thought  would  be  to  their  taste.  They  smacked 
their  lips,  and  shouted  "yes!  yes!"  One  brought 
as  a  present  to  our  Chukchi,  the  reindeer  man's  son, 
a  chunk  of  "black  skin"  that,  in  color  and  odor, 
seemed  to  be  more  than  a  year  old.  He  no  doubt 
judged  that  our  Chukchi,  if  not  starving,  was  at 
least  faring  poorly  on  civilized  trash. 

A  study  of  the  different  Eskimo  faces,  while 
important  trades  were  pending,  was  very  interest- 
ing. They  are  better  behaved  than  white  men,  not 
half  so  greedy,  shameless,  or  dishonest.  I  made  a 
few  sketches  of  marked  faces.  One,  who  received  a 
fathom  of  calico  more  than  was  agreed  upon,  seemed 
extravagantly  delighted  and  grateful.  He  was  lost 
in  admiration  of  the  Captain,  whose  hand  he  shook 
heartily. 

We  continued  at  anchor  here  the  following  day, 
June  9.  It  was  snowing  and  the  decks  were  sloppy. 
Several  canoe  loads  of  Eskimos  came  aboard,  and 
there  was  a  brisk  trade  in  furs,  mostly  reindeer 
hides  and  parkas  for  winter  use;  also  fox  [skins]  and 
some  whalebone  and  walrus  ivory.  Flour  and 
molasses  were  the  articles  most  in  demand.  Some 
of  the  women,  heedless  of  the  weather,  brought 
their  boys,  girls,  and  babies.  One  little  thing,  that 

[69] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  proud  mother  held  up  for  our  admiration, 
smiled  delightfully,  exposing  her  two  precious  new 
teeth.  No  happier  baby  could  be  found  in  warm 
parlors,  where  loving  attendants  anticipate  every 
want  and  the  looms  of  the  world  afford  their  best  in 
the  way  of  soft  fabrics.  She  looked  gayly  out  at  the 
strange  colors  about  her  from  her  bit  of  a  fur  bag, 
and  when  she  fell  asleep,  her  mother  laid  her  upon 
three  oars  that  were  set  side  by  side  across  the 
canoe.  The  snowflakes  fell  on  her  face,  yet  she 
slept  soundly  for  hours  while  I  watched  her,  and 
she  never  cried.  All  the  youngsters  had  to  be  fur- 
nished with  a  little  bread  which  both  fathers  and 
mothers  begged  for  them,  saying,  "He  little  fellow, 
Utile  fellow." 

Four  walrus  heads  were  brought  aboard  and  the 
ivory  sold,  while  the  natives,  men  and  women,  sat 
down  to  dine  on  them  with  butcher-knives.  They 
cut  off  the  flesh  and  ate  it  raw,  apparently  with 
good  relish.  As  usual,  each  mouthful  was  cut  off 
while  held  between  the  teeth.  To  our  surprise  they 
never  cut  themselves.  They  seemed  to  enjoy 
selecting  tidbits  from  different  parts  of  the  head, 
turning  it  over  frequently  and  examining  pieces 
here  and  there,  like  a  family  leisurely  finishing  the 
wrecked  hull  of  a  last  day's  dinner  turkey. 

These  people  interest  me  greatly,  and  it  is  worth 
coming  far  to  know  them,  however  slightly.  The 
smile,  or,  rather,  broad  grin  of  that  Eskimo  baby 

[70I 


Eskimos  and  Walrus 

went  directly  to  my  heart,  and  I  shall  remember  it 
as  long  as  I  live.  When  its  features  had  subsided 
into  perfect  repose,  the  laugh  gone  from  its  dark 
eyes,  and  the  lips  closed  over  its  two  teeth,  I  could 
make  its  sweet  smile  bloom  out  again  as  often  as  I 
nodded  and  chirruped  to  it.  Heaven  bless  it!  Some 
of  the  boys,  too,  lads  from  eight  to  twelve  years  of 
age,  were  well-behaved,  bashful,  and  usually  laughed 
and  turned  away  their  faces  when  looked  at.  But 
there  was  a  response  in  their  eyes  which  made  you 
feel  that  they  are  your  very  brothers. 


CHAPTER  VII 

AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
Plover  Bayy  June  1$,  i88i.] 

A  LITTLE  before  four  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  June  lo,  I  was  awakened  by  the 
officer  of  the  deck  coming  into  the  cabin  and  re- 
porting that  the  weather  was  densely  foggy,  and 
that  ice  in  large  masses  was  crowding  down  upon 
us,  which  meant  "The  Philistines  be  upon  thee, 
Samson!"  Shortly  afterward,  the  first  mass  struck 
the  ship  and  made  her  tremble  in  every  joint;  then 
another  and  another,  in  quick  succession,  while 
the  anchor  was  being  hurriedly  raised.  The  situa- 
tion in  which  we  suddenly  found  ourselves  was 
quite  serious.  The  ice,  had  it  been  like  that  about 
the  ship  of  the  Ancient  Mariner,  "here  and  there 
and  all  around,"  would  have  raised  but  little  appre- 
hension. But  it  was  only  on  one  side  of  us,  while 
a  rocky  beach  was  close  by  on  the  other,  and 
against  this  beach  in  our  disabled  condition  the  ice 
was  steadily  driving  us.  Whether  backing  or  going 
ahead  in  so  crowded  a  bit  of  water,  the  result  for 
some  time  was  only  so  many  shoves  toward  shore. 
At  length  a  block  of  small  size,  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  in  diameter,  drifted  in  between  the  Corwin  and 

[72] 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

the  shore,  aiid  by  steaming  against  it  and  striking 
it  on  the  landward  bow  she  gHnted  around,  head 
to  the  pack,  and  an  opening  allowed  her  to  enter  a 
little  distance.  This  was  gradually  increased  by 
stopping  and  starting  until  we  were  safe  in  the 
middle  of  it.  Watching  the  compass  and  constantly 
taking  soundings,  we  traced  the  edge  of  the  pack, 
and  in  an  hour  or  two  made  our  escape  into  open 
water. 

After  the  fog  lifted  we  went  again  in  search  of  the 
Lolita,  and  discovered  her  five  or  six  miles  below 
the  Eskimo  village.  Dropping  anchor  at  the  edge 
of  a  sheet  of  firm  shore-ice,  we  went  across  it  to  the 
wreck  to  see  whether  we  could  not  get  some  pintles 
from  it  for  our  rudder.  We  found  her  rudder  had 
been  carried  away,  but  procured  some  useful  iron, 
blocks,  tackle,  spars,  etc. ;  also,  two  barrels  of  oil 
which  the  natives  had  not  yet  appropriated.  The 
transportation  of  these  stores  to  the  ship  over  ice, 
covered  with  sludge  and  full  of  dangerous  holes, 
made  a  busy  day  for  the  sailors. 

Back  a  hundred  yards  from  the  beach  I  found  a 
few  hints  of  the  coming  spring,  though  most  of  the 
ground  is  still  covered  with  snow.  The  dwarf  wil- 
low is  beginning  to  put  out  its  catkins,  and  a  few 
buds  of  saxifrages,  erigerons,  and  heathworts  are 
beginning  to  swell.  The  bulk  of  the  vegetation  is 
composed  of  mosses  and  lichens.  Half  a  mile  from 
the  wreck  there  is  a  deserted  Eskimo  village.  All 

[  73  1 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Its  inhabitants  are  said  to  have  died  of  famine  two 
winters  ago.  The  traces  of  both  local  and  general 
glaciation  are  particularly  clear  and  telling  on  this 
island. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  weather  being  calm  and 
mild,  we  succeeded  in  mending  and  shipping  the 
rudder,  and  the  next  morning  we  set  out  yet  again 
for  Plover  Bay,  where  we  now  are,  having  arrived 
about  midnight  on  the  eleventh.  The  men  have 
been  busy  sawing  and  blasting  a  sort  of  slip  in  the 
ice  for  the  ship  that  she  may  be  secure  from  drift 
ice  and  well  situated  for  loading  the  coal  that  is 
piled  on  the  shore  opposite  here.  The  coal  belongs 
to  the  Russians.  In  loading,  the  coal  was  first 
stowed  well  forward  in  order  to  lift  the  stern  high 
enough  out  of  water  to  enable  us  to  make  the  addi- 
tional repairs  required  on  the  rudder,  since  we 
cannot  find  access  to  a  beach  smooth  enough  to  lay 
her  on. 

The  Indians  here  are  very  poor.  They  have 
offered  nothing  to  trade.  With  a  group  of  men  and 
women  that  came  to  the  ship  a  few  mornings  ago 
there  was  a  half-breed  girl  about  two  years  old. 
She  had  light-brown  hair,  regular  European  fea- 
tures, and  was  very  fair  and  handsome.  Her 
mother,  a  Chukchi,  died  in  childbirth,  and  the 
natives  killed  her  father.  She  is  plump,  red- 
cheeked,  and  in  every  way  a  picture  of  health. 
That  in  a  Chukchi  hut,  nursed  by  a  Chukchi 

[74] 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

mother-in-law,  and  on  Chukchi  food,  a  half- 
European  girl  can  be  so  beautiful,  well-behaved, 
happy,  and  healthy  is  very  notable. 

On  the  twelfth  of  June  we  had  snow,  rain  and 
sleet  nearly  all  day.  The  view  up  the  inlet  was  very 
striking  —  lofty  mountains  on  both  sides  rising 
from  the  level  of  the  water,  and  proclaiming  in 
telling  characters  the  story  of  the  inlet's  creation 
by  glaciers  that  have  but  lately  vanished.  Most 
of  the  slopes  and  precipices  seemed  particularly 
dreary,  not  only  on  account  of  the  absence  of  trees, 
but  of  vegetation  of  any  kind  in  any  appreciable 
amount.  No  bits  of  shelf  gardens  were  to  be  seen, 
though  not  wholly  wanting  when  we  came  to  climb, 
for  I  discovered  some  lovely  garden  spots  with  a 
tellima  and  anemone  in  full  bloom.  [The  vegeta- 
tion was]  very  dwarfed,  and  sparse,  and  scattered. 
No  green  meadow-hollows.  The  rock  was  fast  dis- 
integrating, and  all  the  mountains  appeared  in  gen- 
eral views  like  piles  of  loose  stones  dumped  from  the 
clouds.  Plover  Bay  ^  takes  its  name  from  H.M.S. 
Plover,  which  passed  the  winter  of  1848-49  here 
while  on  a  cruise  in  search  of  Franklin.  It  is  a  gla- 
cial fiord,  which  in  the  height  of  its  walls  is  more 
Yosemite-like  than  any  I  have  yet  seen  in  Siberia. 

In  the  afternoon  Dr.  Rosse  and  I  set  out  across 
the  ice  to  the  cliffs.  We  found  a  great  many  seal 
holes  and  cracks  of  a  dangerous  kind,  and  a  good 
*  Called  Providence  Bay  on  recent  maps. 

I  75  ], 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

deal  of  water  on  top  of  the  ice  that  made  the  walk- 
ing very  sloppy.  There  were  dog-sled  tracks  trend- 
ing up  and  down  the  inlet.  The  ice  is  broken  along 
the  shore  by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides,  but  we 
made  out  to  cross  on  some  large  cakes  wedged 
together.  Just  before  we  reached  the  edge  of  rocks, 
in  scanning  the  ruinous,  crumbling  face  of  the  cliffs 
that  here  are  between  two  and  three  thousand  feet 
high,  I  noticed  an  outstanding  buttress  harder  and 
more  compact  in  cleavage  than  the  rest,  and  very 
obviously  grooved,  polished,  and  scratched  by  the 
main  vanished  glacier  that  once  filled  all  the  fiord. 
Up  to  this  point  we  climbed,  and  found  several 
other  spots  of  the  old  glacial  surface  not  yet  weath- 
ered off.  This  is  the  first  I  have  seen  of  this  kind  of 
glacial  traces. 

On  the  thirteenth  the  whaler  Thomas  Pope  ^  ar- 
rived here  and  anchored  to  the  ice  near  us.  Get- 
ting everything  in  trim  for  the  return  voyage,  hav- 
ing already  taken  all  the  [whale]-oil  she  can  carry. 
All  the  fleet  are  doing  well  this  year,  or,  as  the 
natives  express  it,  they  are  getting  a  "big  grease." 

[According  to  brief  entries  in  Muir's  journal  the 
fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  of  June  were 
spent  aboard  the  Corwin,  writing  personal  letters 
and  several  communications  to  the  "  San  Francisco 
Bulletin."  From  Captain  Hooper's  report  of  the 
cruise  of  the  Corwin,  the  following  interesting 
1  Captain  M.  V.  B.  Millard. 
[  76  1 


CHUKCHIS   AND   A   SUMMER   HOUSE   AT   PLOVER   BAY 
Photograph  by  E.  W.  Nelson 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

record  of  events  during  the  interval  is  extracted :  — 

On  the  fourteenth  we  worked  all  day,  drawing  coal 
on  the  sleds,  assisted  by  the  natives  and  two  sleds 
with  three  dogs  each,  but  the  rapidly  melting  ice 
made  it  very  tedious.  On  the  fifteenth  we  continued 
work,  although  the  softness  of  the  ice  compelled  us  to 
reduce  the  loads  to  one-half  their  former  size.  About 
four  in  the  afternoon  a  slight  roll  of  the  vessel  was 
perceptible,  indicating  a  swell  coming  in  from  the 
outside.  At  the  same  time  a  slight  undulating  motion 
of  the  ice  was  observed.  This  was  followed  by  cracks 
in  the  ice  running  in  every  direction,  and  we  had 
barely  time  to  take  in  our  ice  anchors,  call  our  men 
on  board,  and  take  the  Thomas  Pope  in  tow  before 
the  ice  was  all  broken  and  in  motion  and  rapidly 
drifting  toward  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  At  first  It 
looked  as  if  we  might  have  to  go  to  sea  to  avoid  It. 
The  wind  by  this  time  was  blowing  fresh  from  the 
northeast  with  a  thick  snow-storm,  and,  judging 
from  the  roll  coming  into  the  bay,  a  heavy  sea  must 
be  running.  Added  to  this  was  the  fact  of  the  sea 
being  filled  with  large  fields  of  heavy  drift  ice,  mak- 
ing the  prospect  anything  but  a  pleasing  one.  After 
lying  off  outside  the  ice  for  an  hour  or  two  and  just 
when  it  seemed  as  If  our  only  hope  was  in  putting  to 
sea.  Captain  Millard  reported  from  the  masthead 
that  the  whole  body  of  ice  had  started  offshore,  and 
that  if  we  could  get  in  through  it  we  could  find  good 
anchorage  in  clear  water.  Although  the  ice  was  pitch- 
ing and  rolling  badly,  it  was  well  broken  up,  and  we 
determined  to  make  the  attempt,  and  succeeded 
better  than  I  had  anticipated,  and  about  midnight 
we  came  out  Into  clear  water,  and  anchored  near  the 
shore  In  twelve  fathoms,  the  Thomas  Pope  coming 
to  just  outside  of  us  in  twenty  fathoms. 

177  1 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Muir's  journal  continues  with  the  following 
record  under  date  of  June  17:] 

Half-clear  in  the  morning,  foggy  in  the  afternoon. 
Left  Plover  Bay  at  six  in  the  morning  with  Thomas 
Pope^  in  tow.  Left  her  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  It 
was  barred  with  rather  heavy  ice,  which  was  heav- 
ing in  curious  commotion  from  a  heavy  swell.  We 
gave  and  received  three  cheers  in  parting.  Have 
had  a  very  pleasant  time  with  Captains  Millard 
and  Kelly.  Very  telling  views  of  the  sculpture  of 
the  mountains  along  the  Bay,  at  its  head,  and  at 
the  mouth,  where  the  land-ice  flowed  into  the  one 
grand  glacier  that  filled  Bering  Strait  and  Sea.  The 
fronting  cliffs  of  the  sea  glacier  seem  to  be  hardly 
more  weathered  than  those  of  Plover  Bay  and 
adjacent  fiords. 

St.  Michael^  Alaska^  June  20,  j88i. 

Sunshine  now  in  the  Far  North,  sunshine  all  the 
long  nightless  days !  ripe  and  mellow  and  hazy,  like 
that  which  feeds  the  fruits  and  vines!  We  came 
into  it  two  days  ago  when  we  were  approaching 
this  old-fashioned  Russian  trading  post  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon  River.  How  sweet  and  kindly 
and  reviving  it  is  after  so  long  a  burial  beneath 
dark,  sleety  storm  clouds!  For  a  whole  month  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  this  bright  time,  it  snowed 

^  The  San  Francisco  Bulletin^  in  Its  issue  of  July  13,  1881,  noted 
the  arrival  in  port  of  the  whaling  bark  Thomas  Pope  with  a 
series  of  letters  from  John  Muir. 

[78I 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

every  day  more  or  less,  perhaps  only  for  an  hour  or 
two,  or  all  the  twenty-four  hours;  not  one  day  on 
which  snow  did  not  fall  either  in  wet,  sleety  blasts, 
making  sludge  on  the  deck  and  rigging  and  after- 
ward freezing  fast,  or  in  dry  crystals,  blowing  away 
as  fast  as  it  fell.  I  have  never  before  seen  so  cloudy 
a  month,  weather  so  strangely  bewildering  and 
depressing.  It  was  all  one  stormy  day,  broken  here 
and  there  by  dim  gleams  of  sunlight,  but  never  so 
dark  at  midnight  that  we  could  not  read  ordinary 
print. 

The  general  effect  of  this  confusing  interblend- 
ing  of  the  hours  of  day  and  night,  of  the  quick  suc- 
cession of  howling  gales  that  we  encountered,  and 
of  dull  black  clouds  dragging  their  ragged,  droop- 
ing edges  over  the  waves,  was  very  depressing,  and 
when,  at  length,  we  found  ourselves  free  beneath  a 
broad,  high  sky  full  of  exhilarating  light,  we  seemed 
to  have  emerged  from  some  gloomy,  icy  cave.  How 
garish  and  blinding  the  light  seemed  to  us  then, 
and  how  bright  the  lily-spangles  that  flashed  on  the 
glassy  water!  With  what  rapture  we  gazed  into  the 
crimson  and  gold  of  the  midnight  sunsets ! 

While  we  were  yet  fifty  miles  from  land  a  small 
gray  finch  came  aboard  and  flew  about  the  rigging 
while  we  watched  its  movements  and  listened  to 
its  suggestive  notes  as  if  we  had  never  seen  a  finch 
since  the  days  of  our  merry  truant  rambles  along 
the  hedgerows.   A  few  hours  later  a  burly,  dozing 

I79l 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

bumblebee  came  droning  around  the  pilot-house, 
seeming  to  bring  with  him  all  the  warm,  summery 
gardens  we  had  ever  seen. 

The  fourth  of  June  was  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
days  we  spent  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  The  water  was 
smooth,  reflecting  a  tranquil,  pearl-gray  sky  with 
spots  of  pure  azure  near  the  zenith  and  a  belt  of 
white  around  the  horizon  that  shone  with  a  bright, 
satiny  luster,  trying  to  the  eyes  like  clear  sunshine. 
Some  seven  whale-ships  were  in  sight,  becalmed 
with  their  canvas  spread.  Chukchi  hunters  in  pur- 
suit of  seals  were  gliding  about  in  light  skin-covered 
canoes,  and  gulls,  auks,  eider  ducks,  and  other 
water  birds  in  countless  multitudes  skimmed  the 
glassy  level,  while  in  the  background  of  this  Arctic 
picture  the  Siberian  coast,  white  as  snow  could 
make  it,  was  seen  sweeping  back  in  fine,  fluent, 
undulating  lines  to  a  chain  of  mountains,  the  tops 
of  which  were  veiled  in  the  shining  sky.  A  few 
snow  crystals  were  shaken  down  from  a  black  cloud 
towards  midnight,  but  most  of  the  day  was  one  of 
deep  peace,  in  which  God's  lovew^as  manifest  as  in 
a  countenance. 

The  average  temperature  for  most  of  the  month 
commencing  May  twentieth  has  been  but  little 
above  the  freezing  point,  the  maximum  about 
45°  F.  To-day  the  temperature  in  the  shade  at 
noon  is  65°,  the  highest  since  leaving  San  Francisco. 
The  temperature  of  the  water  in  Bering  Sea  and 

[80] 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

Strait,  and  as  far  as  we  have  gone  in  the  Arctic, 
has  been  about  from  29°  to  35°.  But  as  soon  as  we 
approached  within  fifty  miles  of  the  mouths  of  the 
Yukon,  the  temperature  changed  suddenly  to  42°. 

The  mirage  effects  we  have  witnessed  on  the 
cruise  thus  far  are  as  striking  as  any  I  ever  saw  on 
the  hot  American  desert.  Islands  and  headlands 
seemed  to  float  in  the  air,  distorted  into  the  most 
unreal,  fantastic  forms  imaginable,  while  the  in- 
dividual mountains  of  a  chain  along  the  coast 
appeared  to  dance  at  times  up  and  down  with 
a  rhythmic  motion,  in  the  tremulous  refracting 
atmosphere.  On  the  northeast  side  of  Norton 
Sound  I  saw  two  peaks,  each  with  a  flat,  black  table 
on  top,  looming  suddenly  up  and  sinking  again 
alternately,  like  boys  playing  see-saw  on  a  plank. 

The  trading  post  of  St.  Michael  was  established 
by  the  Russians  in  1833.  It  is  built  of  drift  timber 
derived  from  the  Yukon,  and  situated  on  a  low 
bluff  of  lava  on  the  island  of  St.  Michael,  about 
sixty-five  miles  northeast  of  the  northmost  of  the 
Yukon  mouths.  The  fort  is  composed  of  a  square 
of  log  buildings  and  palisades,  with  outlying  bas- 
tions pierced  for  small  cannon  and  musketry,  while 
outside  the  fort  there  are  a  few  small  buildings  and 
a  Greek  church,  reinforced  during  the  early  part  of 
the  summer  with  groups  of  tents  belonging  to  the 
Indians  and  the  traders.  The  fort  is  now  occupied 
by  the  employees  of  the  Alaska  Conmiercial  Com- 

[81  ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

pany."  This  is  the  headquarters  of  the  fur  traders 
of  northern  and  central  Alaska. 

The  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Company  has  a 
main  station  on  the  side  of  the  bay  about  three 
miles  from  here,  and  the  two  companies,  being  in 
close  competition,  have  brought  on  a  condition  of 
the  fur  business  that  is  bitterly  bewailed  by  the  sub- 
traders  located  along  the  Yukon  and  its  numerous 
tributaries.  Not  only  have  the  splendid  profits  of 
the  good  old  times  diminished  nearly  to  zero,  say 
they,  but  the  big  prices  paid  for  skins  have  spoiled 
the  Indians,  making  them  insolent,  lazy,  and  dan- 
gerous, without  conferring  any  substantial  benefit 
upon  them.  Since  they  can  now  procure  all  the 
traders'  supplies  they  need  for  fewer  skins  than 
formerly,  they  hunt  less,  and  spend  their  idle  hours 
in  gambling  and  quarreling. 

The  furs  and  skins  of  every  kind  derived  annu- 
ally from  the  Yukon  and  Kuskoquim  regions,  and 
shipped  from  here,  are  said  to  be  worth  from  eighty 
thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
trade  goods  are  brought  to  this  point  from  San 
Francisco  by  the  rival  companies  in  June,  and 
delivered  to  their  agents,  by  whom  they  are  dis- 
tributed to  their  traders  and  taken  up  the  rivers  to 
the  different  stations  in  the  interior  in  boats  towed 
most  of  the  way  by  small  stem-wheel  steamers. 
Then,  during  the  winter,  the  furs  are  collected  and 
brought  to  tiiis  point  and  carried  to  San  Francisco 

[82] 


At  Plover  Bay  and  St.  Michael 

by  the  vessels  that  bring  the  goods  for  the  next  sea- 
son's trade. 

On  the  nineteenth  instant  the  steamer  belonging 
to  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Company  arrived 
from  a  station  fifteen  hundred  miles  up  the  river, 
towing  three  large  boats  laden  with  Indians  and 
traders,  together  with  the  last  year's  collection  of 
furs.  After  they  had  begun  to  set  up  their  tents 
and  unload  the  furs,  we  went  over  to  the  store- 
rooms of  the  Company  to  look  at  the  busy  throng. 
They  formed  a  strange,  wild  picture  on  the  rocky 
beach;  the  squaws  pitching  the  tents  and  cutting 
armfuls  of  dry  grass  to  lay  on  the  ground  as  a  lining 
for  fur  carpets;  the  children  with  wild,  staring  eyes 
gazing  at  us,  or,  heedless  of  all  the  stir,  playing  with 
the  dogs;  groups  of  dandy  warriors,  arrayed  in  all 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  grim,  and  cruel,  and 
coldly  dignified;  and  a  busy  train  coming  and  going 
between  the  warehouse  and  the  boats,  storing  the 
big  bundles  of  shaggy  bearskins,  black  and  brown, 
marten,  mink,  fox,  beaver,  otter,  lynx,  moose,  wolf, 
and  wolverine,  many  of  them  with  claws  spread 
and  hair  on  end,  as  if  still  fighting  for  life.  They 
were  vividly  suggestive  of  the  far  wilderness  whence 
they  came  —  its  mountains  and  valleys,  its  broad 
grassy  plains  and  far-reaching  rivers,  its  forests 
and  its  bogs. 

The  Indians  seemed  to  me  the  wildest  animals  of 
all.  The  traders  were  not  at  all  wild,  save  in  dress, 

[83  1 


l^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

but  rather  gentle  and  subdued  In  manners  and 
aspect,  like  half-paid  village  ministers.  They  held 
us  in  a  long  interesting  conversation,  and  gave  us 
many  valuable  facts  concerning  the  heart  of  the 
Yukon  country.  Some  Indians  on  the  beach  were 
basking  in  the  yellow,  mellow  sun.  Herring  and 
salmon  were  hanging  upon  frames  or  lying  on  the 
rocks  —  a  lazy  abundance  of  food  that  discouraged 
thought  of  the  future. 

The  shores  here  are  crowded  with  immense  shoals 
of  herring,  and  the  Indians  are  lazily  catching  just 
enough  to  eat.  Those  we  had  for  dinner  are  not 
nearly  so  good  as  those  I  ate  last  year  at  Cross 
Sound.  The  Yukon  salmon,  however,  are  now  in 
excellent  condition,  and  are  the  largest  by  far  that  I 
have  seen.  Yet  the  Yukon  Indians  suffer  severely 
at  times  from  famine,  though  they  might  dry 
enough  in  less  than  a  week  to  last  a  year. 

We  are  making  a  short  stay  here  to  take  on  pro- 
visions, and  intend  to  go  northward  again  to- 
morrow to  meet  the  search  party  that  we  landed 
near  Koliuchin  Island.  Another  delightful  sun-day 
—  nearly  cloudless  and  with  lily-spangles  on  the 
bay.  The  temperature  was  65°  F.  in  the  shade  at 
noon.  The  birds  are  nesting  and  the  plants  are 
rapidly  coming  into  bloom. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

Steamer  Convin, 

Near  the  mouth  of  Metchigme  Bay, 

On  the  west  side  of  Bering  Strait, 

June  27, 1881, 

AFTER  leaving  St.  Michael,  on  the  evening  of 
the  twenty-first,  we  crossed  Bering  Sea  to 
Plover  Bay  to  fill  our  coal-bunkers  from  a  pile 
belonging  to  His  Majesty,  the  Czar  of  Russia. 

On  the  twenty-third  we  were  sailing  along  the 
north  side  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  against  a  heavy 
wind.  There  was  a  rough  sea  and  a  clear  sky,  save 
on  the  island.  I  had  a  tolerably  clear  view  of  the 
most  prominent  portion  of  the  island  near  the  mid- 
dle. It  is  here  composed  of  lava,  reddish  in  color 
and  dotted  with  craters  and  cones,  most  of  which 
seem  recent,  though  a  slight  amount  of  glaciation 
of  a  local  kind  is  visible.  About  three  in  the  after- 
noon we  came  to  anchor  off"  the  northwest  end  of 
the  island  opposite  the  village.  A  few  natives  came 
aboard  at  eight  o'clock. 

The  next  day  we  got  under  way  at  four  in  the 
morning,  going  east  along  the  south  side  of  St. 
Lawrence  Island.  The  norther  again  was  blowing 
as  hard  as  ever.  We  discovered  an  Eskimo  village, 
but  the  natives  were  mostly  dead.     Coming  to 

[8sl 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

anchor  there  at  six  in  the  evening,  we  went  ashore 
and  met  a  few  Eskimos  who,  though  less  demon- 
strative, seemed  quite  as  glad  to  see  us  as  those  on 
the  northwest  end  of  the  island.  The  village,  as 
we  examined  it  through  our  glasses,  seemed  so  still 
and  desolate,  we  began  to  fear  that,  like  some  of  the 
villages  on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  not  a  soul 
was  left  alive  in  it,  until  here  and  there  a  native 
was  discovered  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  where  the 
sunmier  houses  are. 

After  we  had  landed  from  the  life-boat,  two  men 
and  a  boy  came  running  down  to  meet  us  and  took 
us  up  to  the  two  inhabited  houses.  They  all  gath- 
ered about  us  from  scattered  points  of  observation, 
and  when  we  asked  where  all  the  people  were  to 
whom  the  other  houses  belonged,  they  smiled  and 
said,  "All  mucky."  "All  gone."  "Dead.?"  "Yes, 
dead!"  We  then  inquired  where  the  dead  people 
were.  They  pointed  back  of  the  houses  and  led  us 
to  eight  corpses  lying  on  the  rocky  ground.  They 
smiled  at  the  ghastly  spectacle  of  the  grinning 
skulls  and  bleached  bones  appearing  through  the 
brown,  shrunken  skin. 

Being  detained  on  the  twenty-fifth  by  the  norther 
which  was  still  blowing,  we  went  ashore  after  break- 
fast, and  had  a  long  walk  through  graves,  back  to 
noble  views  of  the  island,  telling  the  grandeur  of  its 
glaciation  by  the  northern  ice-sheets.  Weighed 
anchor  and  steered  for  Plover  Bay  shortly  after 

186] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

nine  in  the  evening,  and  arrived  there  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-sixth.  While  the  ship  was 
being  coaled,  I  climbed  the  east  wall  of  the  fiord 
three  or  four  miles  above  the  mouth,  where  it  is 
about  twenty-two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and,  as  the  day  was  clear,  I  obtained  cap- 
ital views  of  the  mountains  on  both  sides  and 
around  the  head  of  the  fiord  among  the  numerous 
ice-fountains  which,  during  the  glacial  winter, 
poured  their  tribute  through  this  magnificent 
channel  into  Bering  Sea. 

When  the  glacier  that  formed  what  is  now  called 
Plover  Bay,  was  in  its  prime,  it  was  about  thirty 
miles  long  and  from  five  to  six  miles  in  width  at  the 
widest  portion  of  the  trunk,  and  about  two  thou- 
sand feet  deep.  It  then  had  at  least  five  main  trib- 
utaries, which,  as  the  trunk  melted  towards  the 
close  of  the  ice  period,  became  independent  glaciers, 
and  these  again  were  melted  into  perhaps  seventy- 
five  or  more  small  residual  glaciers  from  less  than 
a  mile  to  several  miles  in  length,  all  of  which,  as  far 
as  I  could  see,  have  at  length  vanished,  though 
some  wasting  remnants  may  still  linger  in  the  high- 
est and  best-protected  fountains  above  the  head  of 
the  fiord.  I  had  a  fine  glissade  down  the  valley  of  a 
tributary  glacier  whose  terminal  moraines  show  the 
same  gradual  death  as  those  of  the  Sierra.  The 
mountains  hereabouts,  in  the  forms  of  the  peaks, 
ridges,  lake-basins,  bits  of  meadow,  and  in  sculp- 

[87] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

ture  and  aspects  in  general,  are  like  those  of  the 
high  Sierra  of  California  where  the  rock  is  least 
resisting. 

\  Snow  still  lingers  in  drift  patches  and  streaks  and 
avalanche  heaps  down  to  the  sea-level,  while  there 
is  but  little  depth  of  solid  snow  on  the  highest  peaks 
and  ridges,  so  that,  there  being  no  warm,  sunny 
base  of  gentle  slopes  and  foothills,  no  varying  belts 
of  climate,  this  region  as  a  whole  seems  to  consist  of 
only  the  storm-beaten  tops  of  mountains  shorn  off 
from  their  warm,  well-planted  bases.  Still  there 
are  spots  here  and  there,  where  the  snow  is  melted, 
that  are  already  cheered  with  about  ten  species  of 
plants  in  full  bloom:  anemones,  buttercups,  primu- 
las, several  species  of  draba,  purple  heathworts, 
phlox  and  potentilla,  making  charming  alpine  gar- 
dens, but  too  small  and  thinly  planted  to  show  at  a 
distance  of  more  than  a  few  yards,  while  trees  are 
wholly  wanting. 

On  our  way  north  to-day  we  stopped  a  few  min- 
utes opposite  a  small  native  settlement,  six  or  eight 
miles  to  the  northeast  of  the  mouth  of  Metchigme 
Bay,  in  search  of  Omniscot,  the  rich  reindeer  owner, 
whom  we  had  met  further  up  the  coast  two  weeks 
ago,  and  who  had  then  promised  to  have  a  lot  of 
deerskins  ready  for  us  if  we  would  call  at  his  village. 

Some  of  the  natives,  coming  off  to  the  steamer 
to  trade,  informed  us  that  Omniscot  lived  some 
distance  up  the  bay  that  we  had  just  passed,  and 

[88] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

one  of  them,  who  speaks  a  little  English,  inquired 
why  we  had  not  brought  back  Omniscot's  son.  He 
told  us  that  he  was  his  cousin  and  that  his  mother 
was  crying  about  him  last  night,  fearing  that  he 
would  never  come  back. 

We  informed  him  that  his  cousin  was  crazy  and 
had  tried  to  kill  himself,  but  that  he  was  now  at 
Plover  Bay  with  one  of  his  friends  and  would  prob- 
ably be  home  soon.  This  young  Omniscot,  whom 
we  had  taken  aboard  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  think- 
ing that  he  might  be  useful  as  an  interpreter,  is  a 
son  of  the  reindeer  man  and  belongs  to  the  Chukchi 
tribe.  We  soon  came  to  see  that  we  had  a  trouble- 
some passenger,  for  the  expression  of  his  eyes,  and 
the  nervous  dread  he  manifested  of  all  the  natives 
wherever  we  chanced  to  stop,  indicated  some  form 
of  insanity.  He  would  come  to  the  door  of  the  cabin 
to  warn  the  Captain  against  the  people  of  every 
village  that  we  were  approaching  as  likely  to  kill 
us,  and  then  he  would  hide  himself  below  deck  or 
climb  for  greater  safety  into  the  rigging. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  when  we  were  lying  at 
anchor  off  St.  Lawrence  Island,  he  ofi'ered  his  rifle, 
which  he  greatly  prized,  to  one  of  the  officers,  say- 
ing that  inasmuch  as  he  would  soon  die  he  would 
not  need  it.  He  also  sent  word  to  the  Captain  that 
he  would  soon  be  "mucky,"  but  came  to  the  cabin 
door  shortly  afterward,  with  nothing  unusual  ap- 
parent in  his  face  or  behavior,  and  began  a  discus- 

[89] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

sion  concerning  the  region  back  of  St.  Michael  as  a 
location  for  a  flock  of  reindeer.  He  thought  they 
would  do  well  there,  he  said,  and  that  his  father 
would  give  him  some  young  ones  to  make  a  begin- 
ning, which  he  could  take  over  in  some  schooner, 
and  that  they  would  get  plenty  of  good  moss  to  eat 
on  the  tundra,  and  multiply  fast  until  they  became 
a  big  herd  like  his  father's,  so  big  that  nobody  could 
count  them. 

In  three  or  four  hours  after  this  he  threw  himself 
overboard,  but  was  picked  up  and  brought  on  deck. 
Some  of  the  sailors  stripped  off  his  wet  furs,  and 
then  the  discovery  was  made  that  before  throwing 
himself  into  the  sea  the  poor  fellow  had  stabbed 
himself  in  the  left  lung.  The  surgeon  dressed  his 
wound  and  gave  as  his  opinion  that  it  would  prove 
fatal.  He  was  doing  well,  however,  when  we  left  him, 
and  is  likely  to  recover.  The  Plover  Bay  natives, 
in  commenting  on  the  affair,  remarked  that  the 
St.  Lawrence  people  were  a  bad,  quarrelsome  set, 
and  always  kept  themselves  in  some  sort  of  trouble. 

Having  procured  a  guide  from  among  the  natives 
that  came  aboard  here,  we  attempted  to  reach 
Omniscot's  village,  but  found  the  bay  full  of  ice, 
and  were  compelled  to  go  on  without  our  winter 
supply  of  deerskins,  hoping,  however,  to  be  able  to 
get  them  on  the  east  coast. 

There  is  quite  a  large  Chukchi  settlement  near 
the  mouth  of  the  bay,  on  the  north  side.    Seven 

[90] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

large  canoe-loads  of  the  population  came  aboard, 
making  quite  a  stir  on  our  little  ship.  They  are  the 
worst-looking  lot  of  Siberian  natives  that  I  have 
yet  seen,  though  there  are  some  fine,  tall,  manly 
fellows  amongst  them.  Mr.  Nelson,  a  naturalist, 
and  zealous  collector  for  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, who  joined  us  at  St.  Michael,  photographed  a 
group  of  the  most  villainous  of  the  men,  and  two 
of  the  women  whose  arms  were  elaborately  tat- 
tooed up  to  the  shoulders.  Their  faces  were  a  curi- 
ous study  while  they  were  trying  to  keep  still  under 
circumstances  so  extraordinary. 

The  glaciation  of  the  coast  here  is  recorded  in 
very  telling  characters,  the  movement  of  the  ice 
having  been  in  a  nearly  south-southwest  direction. 
There  is  also  a  considerable  deposit  of  irregularly 
stratified  sand  and  gravel  along  this  part  of  the 
coast.  For  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  it  rises  in  crum- 
bling bluffs  fifty  feet  high,  and  makes  a  flat,  gently 
sloping  margin,  from  one  hundred  yards  to  several 
miles  in  width,  in  front  of  the  mountains.  The  bay, 
moreover,  is  nearly  closed  by  a  bar,  probably  of  the 
same  material.  The  weather  is  delightful,  clear 
sunshine,  only  a  few  fleecy  wisps  of  cloud  in  the 
west,  and  the  water  still  as  a  mill-pond. 

June  28,  Anchored  an  hour  or  two  this  forenoon 
at  the  west  Diomede,  and  landed  a  party  to  make 
observations  on  the  currents  and  temperature  of 

1 91 1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  water  that  sets  through  Bering  Strait.  Then 
proceeded  on  our  way  direct  to  Tapkan  to  seek  our 
search  party.  The  fine  weather  that  we  have  en- 
joyed since  the  day  before  our  arrival  at  St.  Michael 
ended  in  the  old,  dark,  gloomy  clouds  and  drizzling 
fog  on  reaching  the  Diomedes,  though  the  coast 
above  East  Cape  has  until  now  been  in  sight  most 
of  the  time  up  to  a  height  of  about  a  thousand  feet. 
The  glaciation,  after  the  melting  of  the  ice-sheet, 
has  been  light,  sculpturing  the  mountains  into  shal- 
low, short  valleys  and  round  ridges,  mostly  broad- 
backed.  The  valleys,  for  the  most  part,  are  not  cut 
down  to  the  sea.  The  shore  seems  to  have  been  cut 
off  by  the  glacier  sheet  that  occupied  the  sea,  after 
it  was  too  shallow  to  flow  over  the  angle  of  land 
formed  by  East  Cape.  This  overflow  is  well- 
marked,  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  northwest  of 
the  Cape,  in  the  trends  of  the  ridges  and  valleys  as 
far  back  as  I  could  see,  that  is,  about  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  shore.  The  north  wind  is,  and  has 
been,  blowing  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  we  fear 
that  we  will  soon  meet  with  the  drifting  ice  from 
the  main  polar  pack. 

Steamer  Corwin, 
OS  the  Chukchi  village  of  Tapkan^ 
Near  Cape  Serdzekamen,  Siberia, 
June  2Q,  1881. 

We  arrived  here  about  eight  this  morning  to  meet 
the  search  party  that  we  landed  about  a  month  ago, 

I  92  ] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

near  KoHuchin  Island.  They  had  been  waiting  for 
us  nearly  two  weeks.  We  were  unable  to  land  on 
account  of  the  stormy  weather,  but  after  waiting 
about  two  hours  we  saw  them  making  their  way 
out  to  the  edge  of  the  drift  ice,  which  extended 
about  three  miles  from  shore,  and  after  a  good  deal 
of  difficulty  they  reached  the  steamer  in  safety. 
The  air  was  gray  with  falling  snow,  and  the  north 
wind  was  blowing  hard,  dashing  heavy  swells,  with 
wild,  tumultuous  uproar,  against  jagged,  tumbling 
ice  blocks  that  formed  the  edge  of  the  pack.  The 
life-boat  was  lowered  and  pulled  to  the  edge  of  the 
pack  and  a  line  was  thrown  from  it  to  the  most 
advanced  of  the  party,  who  was  balancing  himself 
among  the  heaving  bergs.  This  line  was  made  fast 
to  a  light  skin  boat  that  the  party  had  pushed  out 
over  the  ice  from  the  shore,  and,  getting  into  it, 
they  soon  managed  to  get  themselves  fairly 
launched  and  free  from  the  tossing,  wave-dashed 
ice  which  momentarily  threatened  to  engulf  them. 
Mr.  Herring,  the  officer  in  charge,  reported  that 
they  had  proceeded  along  the  coast  as  far  as  Cape 
Wankarem  and  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  accom- 
plish the  main  objects  of  their  mission,  namely,  to 
determine  the  value  of  the  stories  prevalent  among 
the  natives  to  the  southward  of  here  concerning  the 
lost  whalers  Vigilant  and  Mount  WoUaston;  to 
ascertain  whether  any  of  the  crews  of  the  missing 
vessels  had  landed  on  the  Siberian  coast  to  the 

[93  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

southeastward  of  Cape  Yakan;  and  in  case  any 
party  should  land  there  in  the  future,  to  bespeak 
in  their  behalf  the  aid  and  good-will  of  the  natives. 

At  the  Chukchi  village  at  Cape  Onman  they  were 
told  that  at  the  village  of  Oncarima,  near  Cape 
Wankarem,  they  would  find  three  men  who  could 
tell  them  all  about  the  broken  ship,  for  they  had 
seen  the  wreck  and  been  aboard  of  her,  and  had 
brought  off  many  things  that  they  had  found  on 
the  deck  and  in  the  cabin.  This  news  caused  them 
to  hurry  on,  and  when  they  arrived  at  the  village, 
and  had  bestowed  the  customary  presents  of  to- 
bacco and  coffee,  Mr.  Herring  stated  the  object  of 
his  visit. 

Three  natives  then  came  forward  and  stated 
through  the  interpreter  that  last  year,  when  they 
were  out  hunting  seals  on  the  ice,  about  five  miles 
from  the  land,  near  the  little  island  which  they  call 
Konkarpo,  at  the  time  of  year  when  the  new  ice 
begins  to  grow  in  the  sea,  and  when  the  sun  does 
not  rise,  they  saw  a  big  ship  without  masts  in  the 
ice-pack,  which  they  reached  without  difficulty  and 
climbed  on  deck.  The  masts,  they  said,  had  been 
chopped  down,  and  there  was  a  pair  of  horns  on  the 
end  of  the  jib-boom,  indicating  the  position  of  them 
on  a  sketch  of  a  ship.  The  hold,  they  said,  was  full 
of  water  so  that  they  could  not  go  down  into  it  to 
see  anything,  but  they  broke  a  way  into  the  cabin 
and  found  four  dead  men,  who  had  been  dead  a 

[94] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

long  time.  Three  of  them  were  lying  in  bunks,  and 
one  on  the  floor.  They  also  got  into  the  galley  and 
found  a  number  of  articles  which  they  brought 
away;  also,  some  from  the  cabin  and  other  parts  of 
the  ship. 

While  they  were  busy  looking  for  things  which 
they  fancied,  and  considered  worth  carrying  away, 
one  of  the  three  called  out  to  his  companions  that 
the  wind  was  blowing  ofi'shore,  and  that  they  must 
make  haste  for  the  land  as  the  ice  was  beginning  to 
move,  which  caused  them  to  hurry  from  the  wreck 
with  what  articles  they  could  conveniently  carry 
without  being  delayed.  Next  day  they  went  as  far 
out  towards  the  spot  where  they  had  left  the  vessel 
as  the  state  of  the  ice  would  allow,  hoping  to  pro- 
cure something  else.  But  they  found  that  she  had 
drifted  out  of  sight,  and  as  the  wind  had  been  blow- 
ing from  the  southwest,  they  supposed  that  she 
had  drifted  in  a  northeasterly  direction.  They  had 
looked  for  this  ship  many  times  after  her  first  dis- 
appearance, but  never  saw  her  again. 

After  they  had  finished  their  story,  Mr.  Herring 
requested  them  to  show  him  all  the  things  that  they 
had  brought  from  the  wreck,  telling  them  that  he 
would  give  them  tobacco  for  some  of  them  that  he 
might  want  to  show  to  his  friends.  Thereupon  they 
brought  forward  the  following  articles,  which  were 
carefully  examined  by  our  party  in  hopes  of  being 
able  to  identify  the  vessel:  — 

[  95  ] 


l^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

A  pair  of  marine  glasses 

A  pair  of  silver-mounted  spectacles  in  a  tin  case  (the 

lenses  showing  that  they  had  belonged  to  an  aged 

person) 
A  jack-knife 
A  carving-knife 
A  butcher's  chopping-knife 

Two  table-knives,  the  handle  of  one  of  them  marked  V 
A  meat  saw 
A  soup  ladle 
A  stew  pan 
A  tin  collander 
A  hand  lamp 

A  square  tin  lantern  painted  green 
A  draw-knife 
An  adze 

Two  carpenter's  saws 
A  chisel 
A  file  ^ 

A  brace  and  bit 
A  tack  hammer 
A  pump-handle 
A  shovel 
A  bullet-mould 
A  truss 

A  bottle  of  some  sort  of  medicine 
A  sailor's  ditty  bag,  with  thread 
A  razor 

A  linen  jumper 
Two  small  coins 
Two  coils  of  Manila  rope 
Three  whale  spades 
One  harpoon 

The  harpoon  and  whale  spades  are  marked 
"B.K.,"  and  will  no  doubt  serve  to  identify  the 

[96] 


Return  of  the  Search  Party 

owners.  Not  a  single  private  name  was  found  on 
any  of  the  articles;  nor  did  the  natives  produce 
any  books  or  papers  of  any  sort,  though  they  said 
that  they  saw  books  in  the  cabin.  A  number  of 
the  articles  enumerated  above  were  purchased 
by  Mr.  Herring  and  are  now  on  board  the  Corwin, 
namely,  the  marine  glasses,  spectacles,  harpoon, 
and  table-knives. 

The  fate,  then,  of  one  of  the  two  missing  ships 
is  discovered  beyond  a  doubt,  though  a  portion  of 
the  crew  may  possibly  be  alive.  If  the  statement  as 
to  the  deer  horns  on  the  jib-boom  is  to  be  relied  on, 
it  is  the  Vigilant,  as  she  is  said  to  be  the  only  ves- 
sel in  the  fleet  that  had  deer  horns  on  her  jib-boom. 

A  party  of  Chukchi  traders,  also,  were  met  here, 
being  on  their  way  to  East  Cape  with  reindeer  skins. 
They  stated  that  no  vessel  had  been  seen  anywhere 
along  the  coast  to  the  northwest  of  Wankarem  as 
far  as  Cape  Yakan  except  one,  a  three-masted 
steamer,  the  Vega,  two  years  ago;  that  if  any  ships 
had  been  seen  they  certainly  should  have  heard 
about  it.  The  place  where  the  Vega  wintered,^  fif- 
teen or  twenty  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Cape 
Serdzekamen,  is  well  known  to  nearly  all  the  na- 
tives living  within  a  hundred  miles  of  it. 

The  Jeannette  was  last  seen  by  the  natives  oiF 
Cape  Serdzekamen  two  years  ago,  probably  just 
before  she  went  north  into  the  ice.    A  party  of 

1  Pittle  Keg. 

[97] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

walrus  hunters  went  aboard  of  her.  They  described 
her  as  a  three-masted  steamer,  with  plenty  of  coal 
and  dogs  on  deck.  When  Wrangell  Land  was 
pointed  out  on  a  chart  to  the  natives  at  Cape 
Wankarem,  they  shook  their  heads  and  said  that 
they  knew  nothing  of  land  in  that  direction.  But 
one  old  man  told  them  that  long  ago  he  had  heard 
something  about  a  party  of  men  who  had  come 
from  some  far  unknown  land  to  the  north,  over  the 
ice. 

According  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  nine  Chukchi 
settlements  were  passed  on  the  coast  between 
Tapkan  and  Oncarima,  namely,  Naskan,  Undrillan, 
Illwinoop,  Youngilla,^  Illoiuk,  Koliuchin,  Unatap- 
kan,  Onman  and  Enelpan.  The  largest  of  these  is 
Koliuchin,  with  twenty-seven  houses  and  about 
three  hundred  people. 

The  natives,  everyivhere  along  the  route  trav- 
eled, treated  the  party  with  great  kindness,  giving 
them  food  for  their  dog-teams  and  answering  the 
questions  put  to  them  with  good-natured  patience. 
At  Koliuchin  one  of  the  chief  men  of  the  village 
invited  them  to  dinner  and  greatly  surprised  them 
by  giving  them  good  tea  served  in  handsome  China 
cups,  which  he  said  he  had  bought  from  the  Rus- 
sians. 

*  lintlin. 


CHAPTER  IX 

VILLAGES   OF  THE  DEAD 

Steamer  CorwiUy 
East  Cape,  Siberia,  July  J,  i88l. 

AFTER  getting  our  search  party  on  board  at 
Tapkan,  we  found  it  impossible,  under  the 
conditions  of  ice  and  water  that  prevailed,  to  land 
our  Chukchi  dog-driver,  who  lives  there,  and  who 
had  come  off  with  the  party  to  get  his  pay.  He  was 
in  excellent  spirits,  however,  and  told  the  Captain 
that  since  he  had  received  a  gun  and  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  ammunition  he  did  not  care  where  he  was 
put  ashore  —  Cape  Serdzekamen,  East  Cape,  or 
any  point  along  the  shore  or  edge  of  the  ice-pack 
would  answer,  as  he  could  kill  plenty  of  birds  and 
seals,  and  get  home  any  time.  The  dogs  and  sledges 
were  left  in  his  care  at  Tapkan,  to  be  in  readiness 
in  case  they  should  be  required  next  winter. 

Speeding  southward  under  steam  and  sail  we 
reached  East  Cape  yesterday  at  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing. By  this  time  the  wind  was  blowing  what  sea- 
men call  a  "living  gale,"  whitening  the  sea,  and 
filling  up  the  air  with  blinding  scud.  We  found  good 
anchorage,  however,  back  of  the  high  portion  of 
the  Cape,  opposite  a  large  settlement  of  Chukchis. 
East  Cape  is  a  very  bold  bluff  of  granite  about  two 
thousand  feet  high,  which  evidently  has  been  over- 

[99  1 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

swept  'from  the  northwest.  I  eagerly  wa^ited  to 
get  off  and  to  climb  high  enough  to  make  sure  of 
the  trends  of  the  ridges  and  grooves,  and  to  seek 
scratches,  bossed  surfaces,  etc.  But  the  howHng, 
shrieking  norther  blew  all  day,  and  had  not  abated 
at  eleven  o'clock  last  night. 

This  morning  Mr.  Nelson  and  I  went  ashore  to 
see  what  we  could  learn.  The  village  here,  through 
which  we  passed  on  our  way  up  the  mountain-side, 
consists  of  about  fifty  huts,  built  on  a  small,  rocky, 
terminal  moraine,  and  so  deeply  sunk  in  the  face  of 
the  hill  that  the  entire  village  makes  scarcely  more 
show  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards  than  a 
group  of  marmot  burrows.  The  lower  portion  of 
the  walls  is  built  of  moraine  boulders,  the  upper 
portion  and  the  curving  beehive  roof  of  driftwood 
and  the  ribs  of  whales,  framed  together  and  covered 
with  walrus  hide  or  dirt. 

During  the  winter  the  huts  are  entered  by  a  low 
tunnel,  so  as  to  exclude  the  cold  air  as  much  as 
possible.  The  floor  is  simply  the  natural  dirt  mixed 
into  a  dark  hairy  paste,  with  much  that  is  not  at  all 
natural.  Fires  are  made  occasionally  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor  to  cook  the  small  portion  of  their  food 
that  is  not  eaten  raw.  Ivory-headed  spears,  arrows, 
seal  nets,  bags  of  oil,  rags  of  seal  or  walrus  meat, 
and  strips  of  whale  blubber  and  skin,  lie  on  shelves 
or  hang  confusedly  from  the  roof,  while  puppies 
and  nursing  motherndogs  and  children  may  be  seen 

I  100  ] 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

scattered  here  and  there,  or  curled  snugly  in  the 
pots  and  eating-troughs,  after  they  have  licked 
them  clean,  making  a  kind  of  squalor  that  is  pic- 
turesque and  daring  beyond  conception. 

In  all  of  the  huts,  however,  there  are  from  one  to 
three  or  four  luxurious  bedrooms.  The  walls,  ceil- 
ing, and  floor  are  of  soft  reindeer  skins,  and  [each 
polog  has]  a  trough  -filled  with  oil  for  heat  and 
light.  After  hunting  all  day  on  the  ice,  making 
long,  rough,  stormy  journeys,  the  Chukchi  hunter, 
mufiled  and  hungry,  comes  into  his  burrow,  eats 
his  fill  of  oil  and  seal  or  walrus  meat,  then  strips 
himself  naked  and  lies  down  in  his  closed  fur  nest, 
his  polog,  in  glorious  ease,  to  smoke  and  sleep. 

I  was  anxious  to  reach  the  top  of  the  cape  penin- 
sula to  learn  surely  whether  it  had  been  overswept 
by  an  ice-sheet,  and  if  so  from  what  direction,^  and 
to  study  its  glacial  conditions  in  general  and  the 
character  of  the  rocks.  I  therefore  hastened  to 
make  the  most  of  .my  opportunity,  and  pushed  on 
through  the  village  towards  the  lowest  part  of  the 
divide  between  the  north  and  south  sides,  followed 
by  a  crowd  of  curious  boys,  who  good-naturedly 
assisted  me  whenever  I  stopped  to  gather  the  flow- 
ers that  I  found  in  bloom.  The  banks  of  a  stream 
coming  from  a  high  basin  filled  with  snow  was  quite 
richly  flowered  with  anemones,  buttercups,  poten- 
tillas,  drabas,  primulas  and  many  species  of  dwarf 
willows,  up  to  a  height  of  about  a  thousand  feet 

[  loi  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

above  the  level  of  the  sea;  beyond  this,  spring  had 
hardly  made  any  impression,  while  nearly  a  thou- 
sand feet  of  the  highest  summits  were  still  covered 
with  deep  snow. 

Mr.  Nelson  soon  left  me  in  pursuit  of  a  bird,  and 
in  crossing  a  rocky  ridge  to  come  up  with  me  again, 
he  came  upon  a  lot  of  other  game,  which  seemed  to 
interest  him  still  more,  namely,  dead  natives  scat- 
tered about  on  the  rough  stones  at  one  of  the  ceme- 
teries belonging  to  the  village.  The  bodies  of  the 
dead,  together  with  whatever  articles  belonged  to 
them,  are  simply  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
so  that  a  cemetery  is  a  good  field  for  collectors.  A 
lot  of  ivory  spears,  arrows,  dishes  of  various  kinds, 
and  a  stone  hammer,  formed  the  least  ghastly  of 
his  spoils.  Leaving  Mr.  Nelson  alone  in  his  glory, 
I  pushed  on  to  the  top  of  the  divide,  then  followed 
it  westward  to  the  highest  summit  on  the  penin- 
sula, whence  I  obtained  the  views  I  was  in  search  of. 

The  dividing  ridge  all  along  the  high  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  peninsula  is  rounded  from  nearly  north 
to  south.  The  curves  on  the  north  begin  almost  at 
the  waters'  edge,  while  the  south  side  is  quite  pre- 
cipitous along  the  shore.  There  is  also  a  telling 
series  of  parallel  grooves  and  ridges  trending  north 
and  south  across  the  peninsula.  The  highest  point 
is  about  twenty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  the  mountainous  portion  has  been  nearly 
eroded  from  the  continent  and  made  an  island  like 

[    I02   1 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

the  two  Diomedes,  the  wide  gap  of  low  ground  con- 
necting it  with  the  high  mainland  being  only  a  few 
feet  above  tide-water.  In  this  low  portion  there  is 
here  and  there  a  rounded  upswelling  of  more  resist- 
ing rock,  with  trends,  all  telling  the  same  story  of 
a  vast  oversweeping  ice-flood  from  the  north. 

I  also  had  a  clear  view  of  the  coast  mountains  for 
a  hundred  miles  or  thereabouts,  all  of  which  are 
tellingly  glaciated  in  harmony  with  the  above  gen- 
eralization. Most  of  the  rock  is  granite  with  cleav- 
age planes  that  cause  it  to  weather  rapidly  into  flat 
blocks.  One  conical  black  hill,  fifteen  hundred  feet 
high,  is  volcanic  rock,  close-grained  and  dense  like 
some  kinds  of  iron  ore.  I  saw  an  Arctic  owl,  a  big 
snowy  fellow,  fitting  his  place;  also,  snow-buntings 
and  linnets.  When  the  natives  saw  Mr.  Nelson 
returning  without  me  they  said  that  he  had  killed 
me,  not  being  aware  of  the  fact  that  he  understood 
their  language. 

On  my  way  down  to  the  shore  I  crossed  an- 
other of  the  village  cemeteries  on  a  very  rough  and 
steep  slope  of  weathered  granite,  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  village  and  to  the  westward  of  it. 
Whole  skeletons  or  single  bones  and  skulls  lay  here 
and  there,  wedged  into  chance  positions  among 
the  stones,  weathering  and  falling  to  pieces  like 
the  ivory-pointed  spears,  arrows,  etc.,  mixed  with 
them.  The  mountain  that  [they  were  lying  on  is 
crumbling  also  —  dust  to  dust.  Some  of  the  corpses 

[  103  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

have  had  stones  piled  on  them,  and  their  goods  on 
top  of  all;  others  were  laid  on  the  rough  rocks  with 
a  row  of  big  stones  on  the  lower  side  to  keep  them 
from  rolling  down. 

The  damp,  lower  portion  of  the  wild  north  wind, 
as  it  was  deflected  up  and  over  the  slopes  and  frosty- 
summit  of  the  peninsula,  has  given  birth  to  a  re- 
markably beautiful  covering  of  white  ice  crystals 
on  the  windward  sides  of  exposed  boulders,  an^d  in 
some  places  on  the  snow.  The  crystals  resemble 
white  feathers  in  their  aggregate  forms,  but  are 
firm  and  icy  in  structure,  and  as  evenly  and  grace- 
fully imbricated  on  each  other  over  the  rough  faces 
of  the  rocks  as  are  the  feathers  on  the  breast  of  a 
bird.  The  effect  is  marvelously  beautiful  and  inter- 
esting as  seen  on  those  castellated  rock-piles,  so 
frequently  found  on  bleak  summits.  The  points  of 
the  feathers  grow  to  windward,  and  indicate  by 
their  curves  all  the  varying  directions  pursued  by 
the  interrupted  wind  as  it  glints  and  reverberates 
about  the  innumerable  angles  of  the  rock  fronts. 
Thus  the  rocks,  where  the  exposure  to  storms  is 
greatest,  and  where  only  ruin  seems  to  be  the 
object,  are  all  the  more  lavishly  clothed  upon  with 
beauty  —  beauty  that  grows  with  and  depends 
upon  the  violence  of  the  gale.  In  like  manner  do 
men  find  themselves  enriched  by  storms  that  seem 
only  big  with  ruin,  both  in  the  physical  and  the 
moral  worlds. 

[  104  ] 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

We  weighed  anchor  and  got  away  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  and  reached  the  West  Diomede 
Island  village  at  half-past  four.  Here  we  took 
aboard  the  boatswain  and  Mr.  Nelson's  man,  whom 
we  had  left  to  make  observations  on  the  currents, 
tides,  etc.  He  was  to  have  been  assisted  by  the 
natives,  ^but  the  rough  weather  prevented  work. 
About  half-past  five  we  left  the  Diomede  for  Mar- 
cus Bay  in  order  to  land  Joe,  the  Chukchi.  The 
sea  is  smooth  now,  at  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before 
midnight,  and  there  is  a  lovely  orange-and-gold 
sunset.  The  gulls  are  still  on  the  wing. 

July  2.  Clear,  calm,  sunful;  the  coast  of  Asia  is 
seen  to  excellent  advantage;  crowds  of  glacial  peaks, 
ice-fountains,  and  fiords  far  inreaching.  The  snow 
on  them  is  melting  fast.  About  noon  ^  twelve 
canoes  from  a  large  village  twenty  miles  north  of 
Marcus  Bay  came  oil  to  trade.  The  schooners  that 
came  to  this  region  to  trade  were  perhaps  afraid  to 
touch  here.  Consequently  the  Corwin  was  the  first 
vessel  with  trade  goods  that  they  have  seen  this 
year,  and  the  business  in  bone  and  ivory  went  on 
with  hearty  vigor.  A  hundred  or  more  Chukchis 
were  aboard  at  once,  making  a  stir  equal  to  that  of 
a  country  fair.  One  of  them  spoke  a  little  whaler 
English,  three  quarters  of  which  was  profanity  and 
nearly  one  quarter  slang.    He  asked  the  Captain 

^  Opposite  Cape  Chaplin. 

[los] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

why  he  did  not  like  him,  [and  intimated  that]  if  he 
should  come  ashore  to  his  house  he,  the  Indian, 
would  show  him  by  his  treatment  that  he  liked  him 
very  much. 

We  are  now,  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  approach- 
ing Marcus  Bay,  where  Joe  lives,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  him  home.  For  his  month's  work  and  his 
team  of  five  dogs  he  has  been  paid  a  box  of  hard 
bread,  ten  sacks  of  flour,  some  calico,  a  rifle,  and  a 
considerable  quantity  of  ammunition.  Although 
this  is  doubtless  five  times  more  than  he  expected, 
he  does  not  show  any  excitement  or  rise  of  spirits, 
but  only  a  stoical  composure,  which  seems  so  Arctic 
and  immovable  that  I  doubt  whether  he  would 
move  a  muscle  of  his  face  if  he  were  presented  with 
the  whole  ship's  cargo  and  the  ship  itself  thrown  in. 

Steamer  Corwin^ 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  Alaska, 

July  5,  i88i, 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  largest  in  Bering  Sea,  is 
situated  at  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  off  the  mouths  of  the  Yukon,  and 
forty-five  miles  from  the  nearest  point  on  the  coast 
of  Siberia.  It  is  about  a  hundred  miles  in  length 
from  east  to  west  and  fifteen  miles  in  average 
width;  a  dreary,  cheerless-looking  mass  of  black 
lava,  dotted  with  volcanoes,  covered  with  snow, 
without  a  single  tree,  and  rigidly  bound  in  ocean 
ice  for  more  than  half  the  year. 

I  io6] 


CHUKCHIS   AT   INDIAN  POINT,  SIBERIA  (CAPE   CHAPLIN) 
Photograph  by  E.  W.  Nelson 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

Inasmuch  as  it  lies  broadsidewise  to  the  way  pur- 
sued by  the  great  ice-sheet  that  once  filled  Bering 
Sea,  it  is  traversed  by  numerous  valleys  and  ridges 
and  low  gaps,  some  of  which  have  been  worn 
down  nearly  to  the  sea-level.  Had  the  glaciation  to 
which  it  has  been  subjected  been  carried  on  much 
longer,  then,  instead  of  this  one  large  island,  we 
should  have  had  several  smaller  ones.  Nearly  all 
of  the  volcanic  cones  with  which  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  island  is  in  great  part  covered,  are  post- 
glacial in  age  and  present  well-formed  craters  but 
little  weathered  as  yet. 

All  the  surface  of  the  low  grounds,  in  the  glacial 
gaps,  as  well  as  the  flat  table-lands  is  covered  with 
wet,  spongy  tundra  of  mosses  and  lichens,  with 
patches  of  blooming  heathworts  and  dwarf  willows, 
and  grasses  and  sedges,  diversified  here  and  there 
by  drier  spots,  planted  with  larkspurs,  saxifrages, 
daisies,  primulas,  anemones,  ferns,  etc.  These  form 
gardens  with  a  luxuriance  and  brightness  of  color 
little  to  be  hoped  for  in  so  cold  and  dreary-looking 
a  region. 

Three  years  ago  there  were  about  fifteen  hundred 
inhabitants  on  the  island,  chiefly  Eskimos,  living 
in  ten  villages  located  around  the  shores,  and  sub- 
sisting on  the  seals,  walruses,  whales,  and  water 
birds  that  abound  here.  Now  there  are  only  about 
five  hundred  people,  most  of  them  in  one  village 
on  the  northwest  end  of  the  island,  nearly  two 

[  107  ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

thirds  of  the  population  having  died  of  starvation 
during  the  winter  of  1878-79.  In  seven  of  the  vil- 
lages not  a  single  soul  was  left  alive.  In  the  largest 
village  at  the  northwest  end  of  the  island,  which 
suffered  least,  two  hundred  out  of  six  hundred  died. 
In  the  one  at  the  southwest  end  only  fifteen  out  of 
about  two  hundred  survived.  There  are  a  few  sur- 
vivors also  at  one  of  the  villages  on  the  east  end  of 
the  island. 

After  landing  our  interpreter  at  Marcus  Bay  we 
steered  for  St.  Michael,  and  in  passing  along  the 
north  side  of  this  island  we  stopped  an  hour  or  so 
this  morning  at  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  dead 
villages.  Mr.  Nelson  went  ashore  and  obtained  a 
lot  of  skulls  and  specimens  of  one  sort  and  an- 
other for  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  Twenty-five 
skeletons  were  seen. 

A  few  miles  farther  on  we  anchored  before  a 
larger  village,  situated  about  halfway  between  the 
east  and  west  ends  of  the  island,  which  I  visited  in 
company  with  Mr.  Nelson,  the  Captain,  and  the 
Surgeon.  We  found  twelve  desolate  huts  close  to 
the  beach  with  about  two  hundred  skeletons  in 
them  or  strewn  about  on  the  rocks  and  rubbish 
heaps  within  a  few  yards  of  the  doors.  The  scene 
was  indescribably  ghastly  and  desolate,  though 
laid  in  a  country  purified  by  frost  as  by  fire.  Gulls, 
plovers,  and  ducks  were  swimming  and  flying  about 
in  happy  life,  the  pure  salt  sea  was  dashing  white 

[  108  ] 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

against  the  shore,  the  blooming  tundra  swept  back 
to  the  snow-clad  volcanoes,  and  the  wide  azure  sky 
bent  kindly  over  all  —  nature  intensely  fresh  and 
sweet,  the  village  lying  in  the  foulest  and  most 
glaring  death.  The  shrunken  bodies,  with  rotting 
furs  on  them,  or  white,  bleaching  skeletons,  picked 
bare  by  the  crows,  were  lying  mixed  with  kitchen- 
midden  rubbish  where  they  had  been  cast  out  by 
surviving  relatives  while  they  yet  had  strength  to 
carry  them. 

In  the  huts  those  who  had  been  the  last  to  perish 
were  found  in  bed,  lying  evenly  side  by  side,  be- 
neath their  rotting  deerskins.  A  grinning  skull 
might  be  seen  looking  out  here  and  there,  and  a 
pile  of  skeletons  in  a  corner,  laid  there  no  doubt 
when  no  one  was  left  strong  enough  to  carry  them 
through  the  narrow  underground  passage  to  the 
door.  Thirty  were  found  in  one  house,  about  half 
of  them  piled  like  fire-wood  in  a  corner,  the  other 
half  in  bed,  seeming  as  if  they  had  met  their  fate 
with  tranquil  apathy.  Evidently  these  people  did 
not  suffer  from  cold,  however  rigorous  the  winter 
may  have  been,  as  some  of  the  huts  had  in  them 
piles  of  deerskins  that  had  not  been  in  use.  Nor, 
although  their  survivors  and  neighbors  all  say  that 
hunger  was  the  sole  cause  of  their  death,  could  they 
have  battled  with  famine  to  the  bitter  end,  because 
a  considerable  amount  of  walrus  rawhide  and  skins 
of  other  animals  was  found  in  the  huts.    These 

[  109  ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

would  have  sustained  life  at  least  a  week  or  two 
longer. 

The  facts  all  tend  to  show  that  the  winter  of 
1878-79  was,  from  whatever  cause,  one  of  great 
scarcity,  and  as  these  people  never  lay  up  any  con- 
siderable supply  of  food  from  one  season  to  another, 
they  began  to  perish.  The  first  to  succumb  were 
carried  out  of  the  huts  to  the  ordinary  ground  for 
the  dead,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  village.  Then, 
as  the  survivors  became  weaker,  they  carried  the 
dead  a  shorter  distance,  and  made  no  effort  to  mark 
their  positions  or  to  lay  their  effects  beside  them, 
as  they  customarily  do.  At  length  the  bodies  were 
only  dragged  to  the  doors  of  the  huts,  or  laid  in 
a  corner,  and  the  last  survivors  lay  down  In  des- 
pair without  making  any  struggle  to  prolong  their 
wretched  lives  by  eating  the  last  scraps  of  skin. 

Mr.  Nelson  went  into  this  Golgotha  with  hearty 
enthusiasm,  gathering  the  fine  white  harvest  of 
skulls  spread  before  him,  and  throwing  them  in 
heaps  like  a  boy  gathering  pumpkins.  He  brought 
nearly  a  hundred  on  board,  which  will  be  shipped 
with  specimens  of  bone  armor,  weapons,  utensils, 
etc.,  on  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company's  steamer 
St.  Paul. 

We  also  landed  at  the  village  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  island  and  interviewed  the  fifteen 
survivors.  When  we  inquired  where  the  other  peo- 
ple of  the  village  were,  one  of  the  group,  who  speaks 

[  no  1 


Villages  of  the  Dead 

a  few  words  of  English,  answered  with  a  happy, 
heedless  smile,  "Allmucky."  "All  gone!"  "Dead?" 
"Yes,  dead,  all  dead!"  Then  he  led  us  a  few  yards 
back  of  his  hut  and  pointed  to  twelve  or  fourteen 
skeletons  lying  on  the  brown  grass,  repeating  in 
almost  a  merry  tone  of  voice,  "Dead,  yes,  all  dead, 
all  mucky,  all  gone!" 

About  two  hundred  perished  here,  and  unless 
some  aid  be  extended  by  our  government  which 
claims  these  people,  in  a  few  years  at  most  every 
soul  of  them  will  have  vanished  from  the  face  of 
the  earth;  for,  even  where  alcohol  is  left  out  of 
the  count,  the  few  articles  of  food,  clothing,  guns, 
etc.,  furnished  by  the  traders,  exert  a  degrading 
influence,  making  them  less  self-reliant,  and  less 
skillful  as  hunters.  They  seem  easily  susceptible  of 
civilization,  and  well  deserve  the  attention  of  our 
government. 


CHAPTER  X 

GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

St,  Michael,  Alaskdy  July  8,  i88i, 

THE  Corwin  arrived  here  on  the  Fourth,  and, 
in  honor  of  the  day,  made  some  noise  with 
her  cannon  in  concert  with  those  belonging  to  the 
fort,  to  the  steamer  St.  Paul,  and  to  the  post  of  the 
Western  Fur  and  Trading  Company  across  the  bay. 
We  have  taken  on  a  supply  of  coal  and  provisions 
for  nine  months,  in  case  we  should  by  any  accident 
be  caught  in  the  ice  north  of  Bering  Strait  before 
calling  here  again  in  the  fall. 

We  hope  to  get  away  from  here  this  evening  for 
the  Arctic,  intending  to  cruise  along  the  Alaskan 
coast  beyond  Point  Barrow,  spending  some  time 
about  Kotzebue  Sound  in  order  to  look  after  reve- 
nue interests,  and  to  make,  perhaps,  some  explora- 
tions on  the  lower  courses  of  the  Inland  ^  and  Buck- 
land  Rivers,  and  on  the  Colville,^  of  which  nearly 
nothing  is  yet  known  to  geographers.  The  coast  will 
also  be  carefully  searched  for  traces  of  the  Jean- 
nette  and  missing  whalers  in  case  any  portion  of 
their  crews  have  come  over  the  ice  last  winter.  Per- 

*  Now  called  Noatak  River. 

*  The  upper  reaches  of  the  Colvllle  and  Buckland  Rivers, 
according  to  the  Geological  Survey  map  of  191 5,  are  still  unex- 
plored. The  former  empties  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  the  latter  into 
Eschscholtz  Bay. 

[  112  ] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  "Tundra 

haps  a  month  will  be  spent  thus,  when  an  attempt 
will  be  made  to  reach  Wrangell  Land,  where  the 
Jeannette  probably  spent  her  first  winter.  And 
since  the  Corwin  has  already  passed  Cape  Serd- 
zekamen  twice  this  season,  we  have  sanguine  hopes 
of  success  under  so  favorable  a  condition  of  the  ice. 

Arctic  explorations  are  exciting  much  interest 
among  the  natives  here.  Last  evening  the  shamans 
called  up  the  spirits  supposed  to  be  familiar  with 
polar  matters.  The  latter  informed  them  that  not 
only  was  the  Jeannette  forever  lost  in  the  ice  of  the 
Far  North  with  all  her  crew,  but  also  that  the  Cor- 
win would  never  more  be  seen  after  leaving  St. 
Michael  this  time,  information  which  caused  our 
interpreter  to  leave  us,  nor  have  we  as  yet  been 
able  to  procure  another  in  his  place.  The  Jeannette 
took  two  men  from  here.^ 

This  is  the  busy  time  of  the  year  at  St.  Michael, 
when  the  traders  come  with  their  furs  from  stations 
far  up  the  Yukon  and  return  with  next  year's  sup- 
ply of  goods.  Those  of  the  Western  Fur  and  Trad- 
ing Company  left  for  the  upper  Yukon  yesterday, 
and  those  connected  with  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  will  follow  as  soon  as  the  new  steamboat, 
which  they  are  putting  together  here,  can  be  got 
ready. 

^  These  were  the  two  native  Alaskan  hunters  Alexey  and 
Aneguin.  The  former  was  among  those  who  perished  with  De 
Long  on  the  delta  of  the  Lena  River, 

[  "3  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

The  party  of  prospectors  which  left  San  Fran- 
cisco this  spring  in  a  schooner,  to  seek  a  mountain 
of  solid  silver,  reported  to  have  been  seen  some  dis- 
tance up  a  river  that  flows  into  Golofnin  Bay  on 
the  north  side  of  Norton  Sound,  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  here,  has  arrived,  and  is  now  up  the 
river  prospecting.  From  what  I  can  learn,  they  will 
not  find  the  mountain  to  be  solid  silver,  but  some 
far  commoner  mineral.  Gold  is  said  to  have  been 
discovered  by  Mr.  Harker  on  the  Tanana  River — 
bar  diggings  that  would  pay  about  twelve  dollars 
per  day.  There  will  probably  be  a  rush  to  the  new 
mines  ere  long,  though  news  of  this  kind  is  kept 
back  as  long  as  possible  by  the  fur  companies. 

The  weather  is  delightful,  temperature  about 
60°  F.  in  the  shade,  and  the  vegetation  is  growing 
with  marvelous  rapidity.  The  grass  already  is 
about  two  feet  high  about  the  shores  of  the  bay, 
making  a  bright  green  surface,  not  at  all  broken  as 
far  as  can  be  seen  from  the  steamer.  Almost  any 
number  of  cattle  would  find  excellent  pasturage 
here  for  three  or  four  months  in  the  year. 

During  our  last  visit  Dr.  Rosse  and  I  crossed  the 
tundra  to  a  prominent  hill  about  seven  miles  to  the 
southward  from  the  redoubt.  We  found  the  hill  to 
be  a  well-formed  volcanic  cone  with  a  crater  a  hun- 
dred yards  in  diameter  and  about  twenty  feet  deep, 
from  the  rim  of  which  I  counted  upwards  of  forty 
others  within  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  miles. 

[  114] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  T^'undra 

This  old  volcano  is  said  by  the  medicine  men  to  be 
the  entrance  to  the  spirit  world  for  their  tribe,  and 
the  rumbling  sounds  heard  occasionally  are  sup- 
posed to  be  caused  by  the  spirits  when  they  are 
conducting  in  a  dead  Indian.  The  last  eruption 
was  of  ashes  and  pumice  cinders,  which  are  strewn 
plentifully  around  the  rim  of  the  crater  and  down 
the  sides  of  the  cone. 

Our  walk  was  very  fatiguing,  as  we  sank  deep  in 
spongy  moss  at  every  step,  and  staggered  awk- 
wardly on  the  tops  of  tussocks  of  grass  and  sedge, 
which  bent  and  let  our  feet  down  between  them.  It 
was  very  delightful,  however,  and  crowded  with 
rare  beauty. 

We  saw  a  great  number  of  birds,  most  of  which 
were  busy  about  their  nests ;  there  were  ptarmigan, 
snipes,  curlews,  sandpipers,  song  sparrows,  titmice, 
loons,  many  species  of  ducks,  and  the  Emperor 
goose.  The  ptarmigan  is  a  magnificent  bird,  about 
the  size  of  the  dusky  grouse  of  the  Sierra.  They  are 
quite  abundant  here,  flying  up  with  a  vigorous 
whirr  of  wings  and  a  loud,  hearty,  cackling  "kek- 
kek-kep"  every  few  yards  all  the  way  across  the 
tundra.  The  cocks  frequently  took  up  a  position 
on  some  slight  eminence  to  observe  us.  They 
seemed  happily  in  place  out  on  the  wide  moor, 
with  abundance  of  berries  to  eat  through  the  sum- 
mer, spring,  and  fall,  and  willows  and  alder  buds 
for  winter.  Then  they  are  pure  white,  and  warmly 

[  IIS  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

feathered  down  to  the  ends  of  their  toes.  The 
sandpipers  had  fine  feeding-grounds  about  the 
shallow  pools.  The  gray  moor  is  a  fine  place  for 
curlews,  too,  and  snipe. 

The  plants  in  bloom  were  primula,  andromeda, 
dicentra,  mertensia,  veratrum,  ledum,  saxifrage, 
empetrum,  cranberry,  draba  of  several  species, 
lupine,  stellaria,  silene,  polemonium,  buckbean, 
bryanthus,  several  sedges,  a  liliaceous  plant  new 
to  me,  five  species  of  willow,  dwarf  birch,  alder, 
and  a  purple  pedicularis,  the  showiest  of  them  all. 
The  primula  and  a  bryanthus-like  heathwort  were 
the  most  beautiful. 

The  tundra  is  composed  of  a  close  sponge  of 
mosses  about  a  foot  deep,  with  lichens  growing  on 
top  of  the  mosses,  and  a  thin  growth  of  grasses  and 
sedges  and  most  of  the  flowering  plants  mentioned 
above,  with  others  not  then  in  bloom.  The  moss 
rests  upon  a  stratum  of  solid  ice,  and  the  ice  on 
black  vesicular  lava,  ridges  of  which  rise  here  and 
there  above  the  spongy  mantle  of  moss,  and  afford 
ground  for  plants  that  like  a  dry  soil.  There  are 
hollows,  too,  beneath  the  general  level  along  which 
grow  tall  aspidiums,  grasses,  sedges,  larkspurs, 
alders,  and  willows  —  the  alders  five  or  six  inches 
in  diameter  and  from  eight  to  ten  feet  high,  the 
largest  timber  I  have  seen  since  leaving  California. 

Visits  from  Indians  in  kayaks.  At  full  speed  they 
can  run  about  seven  miles  an  hour  for  a  short  dis- 

[  ii6  I 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  "Tundra 

tance.  The  salmon,  that  is,  the  best  red-fleshed 
species,  are  about  finishing  their  run  up  the  river 
now.  A  very  fat  one,  weighing  about  fifty  pounds, 
was  bought  from  an  Indian  for  a  Httle  hardtack. 
After  enough  had  been  cut  ifrom  lit  for  one  meal, 
it  was  lost  overboard  by  dropping  from  its  head 
while  suspended  by  it.  Specimens  of  a  hundred 
pounds  or  more  are  said  to  be  caught  at  times.  Mr. 
Nelson  saw  dried  specimens  six  feet  long. 


[Steamer  Conaitif 
En  route  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,] 

July  p.  Left  St.  Michael,  having  on  board  provi- 
sions for  nine  months,  and  about  one  hundred  tons 
of  coal.  Decks  heavily  piled.  A  weird  red  sunset; 
land  miraged  into  most  grotesque  forms.  Heavy 
smoke  from  the  burning  tundra  southwest  from 
St.  Michael.  The  season's  cruise  seems  now  to  be 
just  beginning. 

July  10.  Arrived  this  morning,  about  seven 
o'clock,  in  Golofnin  Bay,  and  dropped  anchor. 
There  is  a  heavy  sea  and  a  stifiF  south  wind,  with 
clouds  veiling  the  summits  down  to  a  thousand  feet 
from  sea  level.  I  was  put  ashore  on  the  right  side 
of  the  bay  after  breakfast  at  a  small  Indian  village 
of  two  huts  made  of  driftwood.  They  were  full  of 
dried  herring.  Inhabitants  not  at  home,  but  saw  a 
few  at  another  village  farther  up  the  bay.    All  the 

[  117] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

huts  are  strictly  conical  and  of  driftwood.  A  few 
Indians  came  oif  in  canoes,  very  fine  ones,  of  a 
slightly  different  pattern  from  any  others  I  have 
seen.  There  is  a  round  hole  through  the  front  end 
to  facilitate  lifting.  I  had  a  long  walk  and  returned 
to  the  ship  at  three  in  the  afternoon. 

The  principal  fact  I  discovered  is  a  heavy  de- 
posit of  glacial  drift  about  fifty  feet  high,  facing 
several  miles  of  coast.  It  is  coarsely  stratified,  and 
water-worn  —  the  material  of  a'  terminal  moraine, 
leveled  by  water  flowing  from  a  broad  glacier,  while 
separated  from  the  sea  by  a  low,  draggled  flat,  and 
then  eaten  into  blufi's  by  the  sea  waves.  It  is  now 
overgrown  with  alders,  willows,  and  a  good  crop  of 
sedges  and  grasses,  bright  with  flowers.^  Found  the 
small  blue  violet  rather  common.  White  spiraea, 
in  flower,  is  abundant  in  damp  places  about  alder 
groves  where  the  tundra  mosses  are  not  too  thick. 
The  cranberries,  huckleberries,  and  rubus  will  soon 
be  ripe.  The  purple-flowered  rubus  is  only  in  bloom 
now. 

The  driftwood  is  spruce  and  Cottonwood.  The 
rock,  containing  mica,  slate,  and  a  good  deal  of 
quartz,  seems  favorable  for  gold.  The  life-boat, 
rigged  with  sails,  has  been  sent  to  board  the  pros- 
pectors' schooner  anchored  farther  up  the  bay. 
Seven  men  are  aboard,  and  seven  are  off  prospect- 
ing. They  are  reported  to  have  found  promising 
*  See  "Botanical  Notes,"  p.  265. 

1 118  ] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  Tundra 

galena  assaying  high  values  per  ton.  They  mean 
to  visit  the  quicksilver  mines  on  the  Kuskoquim. 
The  rocks  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  exhibit 
clear  traces  of  glacial'  sculpture. 

July  II.  Sailed  this  morning  from  the  anchorage 
in  Golofnin  Bay,  and  reached  Sledge  Island  at  nine 
in  the  evening.  The  natives  are  mostly  away  on 
the  mainland.  The  island  seems  to  be  of  granite 
and  to  have  been  overswept  [by  glaciers].  Obtained 
a  pretty  good  view  of  the  mountains  at  the  head 
of  Golofnin  Bay.  They  seem  to  be  from  four  to  five 
thousand  feet  high. 

July  12.  Reached  King  Island  this  morning 
about  seven  o'clock,  and  left  at  half-past  ten. 
Reached  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  about  three  in  the 
afternoon  and  anchored.  Left  at  six  in  the  evening. 
Clear,  bright  day;  water,  pale  green.  Had  a  fine 
view  of  the  Diomedes,  Fairway  Rock,  King  Island, 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  lofty  mountains 
towards  the  head  of  the  river  that  enters  Golofnin 
Bay,  all  from  one  point  of  view.  The  King  Island 
natives  were  away  on  the  mainland,  all  save  a  few 
old  or  crippled  men,  and  women  and  children. 

Their  town,  of  all  that  I  have  seen,  is  the  most 
remarkably  situated,  on  the  face  of  a  steep  slope, 
almost  a  cliff",  and  presents  a  very  strange  appear- 
ance.   Some  fifty  stone  huts,  scarcely  visible  at  a 

I  119] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

short  distance,  like  those  of  the  Arizona  clifF- 
dwellers,  rise  like  heaps  of  stones  among  heaps  of 
stones.  These  are  the  winter  huts,  and  are  entered 
by  tunnels.  The  summer  huts,  large  square  boxes 
on  stilts,  are  of  skin,  [stretched  over]  large  poles  of 
driftwood.  There  is  no  way  of  landing  save  amid 
a  mass  of  great  wave-beaten  boulders.  In  stormy 
times  the  King  Islanders'  excellent  canoes  have  to 
be  pitched  off  into  the  sea  when  a  wave  is  about  to 
recede.  Two  are  tied  together  for  safety  in  rough 
weather.  These  pairs  live  in  any  sea.  A  few  gray- 
headed  old  pairs  came  off  with  some  odds  and  ends 
to  trade. 

Mr.  Nelson  and  I  went  ashore  to  obtain  photo- 
graphs and  sketches  and  to  bargain  for  specimens 
of  ivory  carvings,  etc.  A  busy  trade  developed 
on  the  roof  of  a  house,  the  only  level  ground. 
Groups  of  merry  boys  went  skipping  nimbly  from 
rock  to  rock,  and  busily  guided  us  over  the  safest 
places.  They  showed  us  where  between  the  huge 
boulders  it  was  best  to  attempt  a  landing,  which 
was  difficult.  Though  the  sea  was  nearly  calm,  a 
slight  swell  made  a  heavy  surf.  One  hut  rose  above 
another  like  a  village  on  Yosemite  walls.  The  whole 
island  is  precipitous,  so  much  so  that  it  seems 
accessible  only  to  murres,  etc.,  which  flock  here 
in  countless  multitudes  to  breed. 

In  the  afternoon,  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  we 
lay  opposite  a  large  village  whose  inhabitants  have 

[  I20  ] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  "Tundra 

a  bad  character.  They  started  a  fight  while  trading 
on  board  of  a  schooner.  Many  of  them  were  killed, 
and  they  have  since  been  distrusted  not  only  on 
account  of  their  known  bad  character,  but  also 
because  of  the  law  of  blood  revenge  which  obtains 
universally  among  these  natives.  They  are  noted 
traders  and  go  far  in  their  large  skin  boats  which 
carry  sails.  While  we  were  here  a  canoe,  met  by  our 
search  party,  arrived  from  East  Cape — a  party 
of  Chukchi  traders,  bringing  deerskins  from  Cape 
Yakan.  They  are  in  every  way  much  better-look- 
ing men  than  the  natives  of  this  side,  being  taller, 
better-formed,  and  more  cordial  in  manner.  They 
at  once  recognized  our  Third  Lieutenant  Reynolds, 
whom  they  had  met  at  Tapkan.  Fog  at  night; 
going  under  sail  only. 

July  13,  Lovely  day,  nearly  cloudless.  Average 
temperature  of  50°  F.  At  half-past  five  in  the  after- 
noon we  fell  in  with  a  trading  schooner  ^  opposite  an 
Indian  village.^  One  of  the  boats  came  alongside 
the  Corwin  and  traded  a  few  articles.  Nothing 
contraband  was  found,  though  rifles  probably  had 
been  sold  during  the  first  part  of  her  cruise.  These 
vessels,  as  well  as  whalers,  carry  more  or  less  whis- 
key and  rifles  in  order  to  obtain  ivory,  whalebone, 
and  furs.  They  go  from  coast  to  coast  and  among 
islands,  and  thus  pick  up  valuable  cargoes.  The 
^  The  O.  S.  Fowler.  *  Near  Cape  Espenberg. 

[  I"  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

natives  cannot  understand  why  the  Corwin  inter- 
feres with  trade  in  repeating  rifles  and  whiskey. 
They  consider  it  all  a  matter  of  rivalry  and  superior 
strength.  No  wonder,  since  our  government  does 
nothing  for  them.  Conmion  rifles  would  be  better 
for  them,  partly  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  supplies  of  cartridges,  and  partly  be- 
cause repeating  rifles  tempt  them  to  destroy  large 
amounts  of  game  which  they  do  not  need.  The 
reindeer  has  in  this  manner  been  well-nigh  exter- 
minated within  the  last  few  years. 

July  14,  A  hot,  sunny  day.  Came  to  anchor  this 
morning  at  the  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  Kiwalik  River.  Between  eight 
and  nine  o'clock  this  morning  Lieutenant  Reynolds, 
with  six  seamen,  took  Mr.  Nelson  and  me  up  the 
river  in  one  of  the  boats.  We  reached  a  point  about 
eight  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  near  the 
head  of  the  delta.  Since  the  bay  is  shoal  oif  the 
estuary,  the  ship  was  anchored  about  four  miles 
from  the  mouth.  We,  therefore,  had  a  journey  of 
about  twenty-four  miles  altogether.  We  first  landed 
at  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  and  walked  a  mile  or 
two  along  a  bar  shoved  up  by  the  waves  and  the 
ice.  Here  we  found  one  native  hut  in  good  repair. 
The  inhabitants  were  away,  but  the  trodden  grass 
showed  that  they  had  not  been  gone  very  long. 
This  is  the  time  of  the  year  when  the  grand  gather- 

[  122  ] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  Tundra 

ing  of  the  clans  for  trade  takes  place  at  Cape 
Blossom,  and  they  probably  had  gone  there.  The 
floor  of  the  hut  was  about  ten  feet  in  diameter,  [and 
the  hut  itself]  was  made  of  a  frame  of  driftwood 
covered  with  sod,  and  was  entered  by  a  narrow 
tunnel  two  feet  high  and  eighteen  inches  wide.  We 
saw  traces  of  a  great  many  houses,  showing  that 
quite  a  large  village  was  at  one  time  located  here. 
In  some  only  a  few  decaying  timbers  were  to  be 
seen,  in  others  all  the  timbers  had  vanished  and 
only  the  excavation  remained.  Some  six  miles 
farther  up  the  stream  I  noticed  other  ruins,  indi- 
cating that  many  natives  once  lived  here,  though 
now  their  number  has  dwindled  to  one  family. 

The  delta  is  about  five  miles  wide  and  about 
eight  miles  long.  It  is  covered  with  a  grassy,  flow- 
ery, sedgy  vegetation,  with  pools,  lagoons,  and 
branches  of  the  river  here  and  there.  It  is  a  lonely 
place,  and  a  favorite  resort  of  ducks,  geese,  and 
other  water  birds  which  come  here  to  breed  and  to 
moult.  We  saw  swans  ^  with  their  young;  eider 
ducks,  also,  were  seen  with  their  young,  and  some 
were  found  on  their  eggs,  which  are  green  and  about 
the  size  of  hens'  eggs.  Their  nests  were  among  the 
grass  on  the  margin  of  a  lagoon  and  were  made  with 
a  handful  of  down  from  their  breasts.  These  as  well 
as  other  ducks,  which  had  their  young  with  them, 
could  not  be  made  to  fly,  though  we  came  within 
^  Whistling  swans  {Olor  columbianus), 
[  123  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

three  or  four  yards  of  them  in  a  narrow  pool.  When 
I  threw  sticks  at  the  flock  they  would  only  dive. 
They  were  very  graceful,  and  took  good  care  of 
their  children.  We  could  easily  have  killed  them 
all. 

The  wild  geese  which  we  saw  also  had  young  — 
a  dozen  families  altogether.^  They  are  moulting 
now  and  cannot  fly.  We  chased  a  large  flock  in  the 
estuary.  When  they  saw  us  coming,  they  made 
frantic  efforts  to  keep  ahead  of  the  boat.  When  we 
overtook  them,  they  dived  and  scattered,  coming 
up  here  and  there,  often  close  to  the  boat,  and  al- 
ways trying  to  keep  themselves  concealed  by  lay- 
ing their  necks  along  the  water  and  sinking  their 
bodies  and  lying  perfectly  still;  or,  if  they  were  well 
away  from  the  boat  and  fancied  themselves  unseen, 
they  swam  in  this  sunken,  outstretched  condition 
and  were  soon  lost  to  view,  if  there  was  the  least 
wind-ripple  on  the  water.  Saw  three  plovers,  the 
godwit  from  the  Siberian  side,  and  many  finches 
and  gulls.  On  a  small  islet  in  the  middle  of  a  pond 
we  found  one  nest  of  the  burgomaster  gull.  They 
tried  to  drive  us  away  by  swooping  down  upon  us. 
I  noticed  also  the  robber-gull  and  several  others. 
Butterflies  were  quite  abundant  among  the  bloom- 
ing meadow  vegetation.  I  noticed  six  or  more  spe- 

^  Mr.  E,  W.  Nelson  reported  the  geese  observed  here  as  be- 
longing to  two  species,  the  American  white-fronted  goose  {Anser 
albtfrons  gamhelt)  and  the  white-cheeked  goose  {Bernicla  canaden- 
sis Uucoparia), 

[  124  ] 


Glimpses  of  Alaskan  T^undra 

cies.  The  vegetation  is  like  that  of  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales  and  Norton  Sound.  Found  one  red  poppy, 
one  wintergreen,  allium,  saxifrages,  primulas,  lu- 
pines, pedicularis,  and  peas,  quite  abundant.  This 
region  is  noted  for  its  fossil  ivory.  Found  only 
a  fragment  of  a  tusk  and  a  few  bones.  The  deposit 
whence  they  were  derived  is  probably  above  the 
point  reached  by  us.  The  gravel  is  composed  of 
quartz,  mica,  slate,  and  lava.  There  are  many  lava 
cones  and  ridges  on  both  sides  of  the  estuary. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

JULY  1$,  Rainy  and  cold;  cleared  at  seven  in 
the  evening.  Left  the  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound 
this  morning  at  seven-thirty,  for  Cape  Blossom, 
where  the  natives  assemble  from  near  and  far  to 
trade,  but  only  one  poor  family  was  left.  We  went 
ashore  and  found  them  engaged  in  fishing  for  sal- 
mon with  a  net  which  was  pushed  out  from  the 
shore  by  a  long  pole  sixty  feet  in  length,  made  of 
three  tied  together.  The  Indians  had  gone  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles  up  the  coast,  near  Cape  Krusen- 
stern.  Their  tents  were  to  be  seen,  looking  like 
Oakland  across  the  bay  from  San  Francisco,  so 
numerous  they  seemed.  A  small  schooner,  the 
Fowler,  was  at  anchor  there  trading.  Soon  half  a 
dozen  canoes  came  alongside  of  us,  and  oflPered  to 
trade,  but  asked  big  prices.  The  Captain  obtained 
only  two  wolfskins,  a  deerskin,  and  a  few  muskrats, 
and  bunches  of  sinew.  [The  Corwin  then  proceeded 
to  Hotham  Inlet  and  came  to  anchor  about  two 
miles  from  the  native  village  called  Sheshalek, 
inhabited  by  Kobuk  and  Noatak  River  Eskimos.] 

July  i6,  A  fresh  breeze  from  the  north,  but  the 
day  is  tolerably  clear.    A  swell  is  breaking  into 

[  126  ] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

whitecaps  here  and  there.  A  busy  day  with  the 
Indians,  trading  for  a  winter  supply  of  deerskins. 
We  obtained  over  a  hundred  altogether  at  the  rate 
of  about  a  dollar  each  for  summer  skins,  and  half 
as  much  for  those  taken  in  winter.  With  what  we 
have  already  picked  up  here  and  there,  and  with 
the  parkas  we  have  collected,  this  will  be  amply 
sufficient.  Reindeer  are  killed  in  immense  numbers 
inland  from  here.  All  are  wild;  no  domesticated 
herds  are  found  on  the  American  continent,  though 
the  natives  have  illustrations  enough  of  their  value 
on  the  opposite  shores  of  Bering  Sea.  These  Indi- 
ans prefer  herds  that  require  no  care,  though  they 
are  not  always  to  be  found  when  wanted.  Some  of 
the  wild  herds  that  exist  up  the  Inland  River  are 
said,  by  the  Indians,  to  be  so  large  as  to  require 
more  than  a  day  in  passing. 

The  number  of  these  animals,  considering  the 
multitude  of  their  enemies.  Is  truly  wonderful.  The 
large  gray  wolves  kill  many  during  the  winter,  and 
when  the  snow  is  deep,  large  flocks  are  slaughtered 
by  the  Indians,  whether  they  need  them  or  not. 
They  make  it  a  rule  to  kill  every  animal  that  comes 
within  reach,  without  a  thought  of  future  scarcity, 
fearing,  as  some  say,  that,  should  they  refuse  to 
kill  as  opportunity  offers,  though  It  be  at  a  time 
when  food  is  no  object,  then  the  deer-spirit  would 
be  offended  at  the  refusal  of  his  gifts  and  would  not 
send  any  deer  when  they  are  in  want.   Probably, 

.[  127  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

however,  they  are  moved  simply  by  an  Instinctive 
love  of  killing  on  which  their  existence  depends, 
and  these  wholesale  slaughters  are  to  be  regarded 
as  only  too  much  of  a  good  thing.  Formerly  there 
were  large  herds  about  St.  Michael,  but  since  the 
introduction  of  repeating  rifles  they  have  wholly 
vanished.  Hundreds  were  surrounded  in  passes 
among  the  hills,  were  killed  and  left  lying  where 
they  fell,  not  even  the  hides  being  taken.  Often  a 
band  of  moose  or  reindeer  is  overtaken  in  deep 
snow,  when  they  are  easily  killed  with  clubs  by 
Indians  on  snowshoes,  who  will  simply  cut  out 
their  tongues,  and  leave  the  rest  to  be  eaten  by 
wolves. 

The  reindeer  is  found  throughout  the  Arctic  and 
subarctic  regions  of  both  Asia  and  America,  and, 
in  either  the  wild  or  the  domestic  state,  supplies  to 
the  natives  an  abundance  of  food  and  warm  cloth- 
ing, thus  rendering  these  bleak  and  intensely  cold 
regions  inhabitable.  I  believe  it  is  only  in  Lapland 
and  Siberia  that  the  reindeer  is  domesticated.  They 
are  never  sold  alive  by  the  Chukchis  on  account  of 
a  superstitious  notion  that  to  do  so  would  surely 
bring  bad  luck  by  incensing  the  spirit  of  the  deer. 
A  hundred  can  be  bought,  after  they  are  killed,  for 
less  than  one  alive.  Certain  ceremonies  must  also 
be  observed  before  killing. 

Out  on  the  frozen  tundra  great  care  is  required, 
both  by  day  and  by  night,  to  keep  them  from  being 

[  128] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

scattered  and  torn  by  wolves.  A  reindeer  weighs 
from  three  to  four  hundred  pounds.  The  winter 
skins  are  heavier,  the  hair  being  long  and  tipped 
with  white,  giving  them  a  hoary  appearance, 
especially  on  the  back;  but  the  hair  is  easily  broken 
and  pulled  out,  a  fact  which  renders  them  much 
less  durable  when  used  for  bedding,  tents,  or  cloth- 
ing than  those  taken  in  summer,  when  the  hair  is 
short,  and  dark  blue,  almost  black.  Reindeer  hides 
are  easily  tanned;  those  tanned  in  Siberia  are  dyed 
a  rich  reddish-brown  on  the  inside  with  alder  bark. 
The  domestic  reindeer  skins  are  considered  better 
than  those  of  the  wild  animals.  Wrangell  ^  has  de- 
scribed the  herds  as  affording  a  grand  sight. 

At  this  point  ^  the  Indians  from  the  interior,  and 
from  many  miles  up  and  down  the  coast,  assemble 
once  a  year  in  July  to  trade  with  each  other,  with 
parties  of  Chukchis  who  come  from  Siberia  in 
umiaks,  and  with  the  few  schooners  that  bring 
goods  from  San  Francisco  and  from  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  After  trading  they  indulge  in  games  of 
wrestling,  playing  ball,  gambling,  dancing,  and 
drinking  whiskey,  if  they  can  get  it.  Then  they 
break  up  their  camps  and  go  to  their  widely  scat- 
tered homes,  some  a  month's  journey  or  more  up 
the  Inland  and  down  the  Col ville  Rivers.  They  now 

*  Admiral  Baron  Ferdinand  Petrovich  von  Wrangell,  polar 
explorer  and  Russian  Governor,  Administrator  of  the  Russian- 
American  colonies,  1829-36. 

^  The  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound. 

[   129  ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

have  about  one  hundred  and  forty  tents  set  in  a 
row  along  the  beach,  their  Hght  kayaks  in  front  of 
the  tents  in  a  neat  row,  each  with  paddles  and 
spears  that  belong  to  it,  and  in  front  of  these  a 
row  of  large  skin  umiaks.  They  are  a  mixed,  jolly 
multitude,  wearing  different  ornaments,  superb  fur 
clothes,  or  shabby  foreign  articles;  one  sees  long 
hair,  short  hair,  or  closely  shaven;  here  is  headgear 
of  hats,  caps,  or  cowls,  and  folk  who  go  bareheaded ; 
labrets,  too,  of  every  conceivable  size,  color,  and 
material  —  glass,  stone,  beads,  ivory,  brass.  They 
show  good  taste  and  ingenuity  in  the  manufacture 
of  pipes,  weapons,  knickknacks  of  a  domestic  kind, 
utensils,  ornaments,  boats,  etc. 

Though  savage  and  sensual,  they  are  by  no 
means  dull  or  apathetic  like  the  sensual  savages  of 
civilization,  who  live  only  to  eat  and  indulge  the 
senses,  for  these  Eskimos,  without  newspapers  or 
telegraphs,  know  all  that  is  going  on  within  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  and  are  keen  questioners  and  alive 
to  everything  that  goes  on  before  them.  They 
dearly  like  to  gossip.  One  tried  to  buy  some  of 
the  cabin  boy's  hair,  on  account  of  its  curious 
whiteness;  another,  who  has  red  hair,  is  followed 
and  commented  on  with  ludicrous  interest. 

The  shores  hereabouts  are  comparatively  low, 
the  hills,  back  a  few  miles  from  shore,  rolling  and 
of  moderate  height,  and  mountains  are  to  be  seen 
beyond. 

[  130  ] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

July  77.  The  northerly  wind  still  prevails ;  cloudy 
all  day,  but  dry.  Left  the  Eskimo  "Long  Branch" 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  sailed  to  Cape 
Thompson,  where  we  mean  to  look  into  the  con- 
dition of  the  Eskimos  and  inquire  whether  they 
have  obtained  whiskey,  from  any  of  the  traders, 
contrary  to  law.  The  coast  is  rather  low.  Moun- 
tains are  visible  thirty  miles  back;  low  hills  be- 
tween. 

July  18.  Numerous  snow  squalls.  Came  to 
anchor  at  five  this  morning  in  the  lee  of  Point  Hope. 
Norther  blowing.  Remained  all  day  in  company 
with  the  Sea  Breeze.^  A  few  of  the  natives  came  off 
shore  —  good-natured  fellows.  A  negro,  who  win- 
tered here  last  season,  was  well  used  by  them,  for 
he  was  given  the  best  of  what  they  had.  He  had 
lost  an  axe  overboard,  so  the  story  goes,  and  de- 
serted on  account  of  trouble  he  had  over  the  matter 
with  the  second  officer  of  the  brig  Hidalgo.  He  was 
taken  on  board  again  this  spring. 

We  landed  and  walked  through  the  village. 
Found  a  fine  gravel  beach,  beautifully  flowered 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves.  Most  of  the  natives 
seem  to  be  away  —  at  the  summer  gathering,  per- 
haps. The  graveyard  is  of  great  extent  and  very 
conspicuous  from  the  custom  of  surrounding  the 
graves  with  poles. 

*  A  whaling  bark. 

[  131 1 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

July  Jp.  Cold,  stiff,  north  wind;  clear.  Left  our 
anchorage  at  five  o'clock  this  morning  and  pro- 
ceeded north,  but  found  the  gale  too  strong  to  make 
much  headway  and,  therefore,  turned  back  and 
anchored  at  Cape  Thompson,  thirty  miles  south  of 
Point  Hope.  Watering  ship  all  day;  the  wind  is 
blowing  hard.  Going  north  again  since  seven 
o'clock  this  evening.  Wind  moderating  slightly. 

I  went  ashore  this  forenoon  and,  after  passing  a 
few  minutes  interviewing  a  group  of  vagabond 
natives  from  Point  Hope  who  were  camped  here  to 
gather  eggs,  kill  murres,  and  loaf,  I  pushed  on  up 
the  hillside,  whose  sheer  scarped  face  forms  the 
Cape.  I  found  It  five  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high, 
composed  of  calcareous  slates,  much  bent  and  con- 
torted, and  a  considerable  portion  was  fossiliferous. 
Where  hills  of  this  rock  have  steep  slopes,  and  so 
much  drainage  and  wash  that  soil  is  not  allowed  to 
form,  nor  the  usual  moss  mantle  to  grow,  they 
bleach  white  and  present  a  remarkably  desolate 
aspect  in  the  distance.  Such  hills  are  common  back 
of  Kotzebue  Sound.  These  barren  slopes,  however, 
alternate  with  remarkably  fertile  valleys,  where 
flowers  of  fifty  or  more  species  bloom  in  rich  pro- 
fusion, making  masses  of  white,  purple,  and  blue. 
Sometimes  this  occurs  on  a  comparatively  thin 
soil  where  the  leaves  do  not  veil  the  rocky  ground; 
but  at  the  bottom  of  the  valleys  there  usually  is  a 
green  ground  below  the  bloom. 

[  132  ] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

The  slopes  over  which  I  passed  in  to-day's  walk 
are  planted  chiefly  with  sweet  fern  —  Dryas  — 
with  its  yellowish-white  flowers.  A  purple  silene  is 
also  very  abundant,  making  beautiful  bosses  of 
color.  Phlox  is  present  in  dwarfed  masses,  only  the 
stems  and  leaves  being  dwarfed,  not  the  flowers. 
Anemones  occur  in  fine  patches,  and  buttercups, 
and  several  species  of  daisies  and  lupines.  Dodeca- 
theon  I  met  here  for  the  first  time  this  season. 
Dwarf  willows  are  abundant.  There  was  one  fern 
and  one  heathwort  along  a  streamside.  I  saw  no 
true  tundra  here,  its  absence,  no  doubt,  being  due 
to  the  free  drainage  of  the  surface.  The  winds  from 
the  north  are  violent  here,  as  evidenced  by  the 
immense  snow-drifts  still  unmelted  along  the  shore 
where  we  landed,  and  also  back  in  the  hollows 
where  they  feed  the  stream  at  which  we  got  water 
for  the  ship.  They  probably  will  last  all  summer. 
This  circumstance,  of  course,  leaves  the  hill  slopes 
all  the  barer  and  dryer. 

The  trends  of  two  main  ridges,  of  which  I  ob- 
tained approximate  measurements,  probably  coin- 
cide with  the  direction  of  the  movement  of  the  ice. 
There  is  a  small  wasted  moraine  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  stream  valley,  extending  to  the  shore.  Par- 
tial after-glaciation  has  been  light,  and  on  rocks 
of  this  sort  has  left  only  very  faint  traces. 

July  20.   Last  night  we  again  anchored  on  the 
[  133  J 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

south  side  of  Point  Hope,  the  norther  still  blowing 
hard.  About  noon  to-day  it  began  to  abate,  and 
we  again  pushed  off  northward.  Now,  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  are  approaching  Cape 
Lisburne,  a  bold  bluff  of  gray  stratified  rocks  about 
fifteen  hundred  feet  high.  All  along  the  coast,  from 
the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
peculiar  gray  color  of  the  rocks,  and  the  forms  into 
which  they  are  weathered  and  glaciated,  indicate 
one  continuous  formation,  partially  described  yes- 
terday. Magnificent  sections  are  exposed  between 
the  north  side  of  Point  Hope  and  Cape  Lisburne. 
The  age  of  the  formation  I  do  not  as  yet  certainly 
know.  The  existence  of  coal-veins  here  and  there  in 
connection  with  conglomerates,  and  the  few  fossils, 
would  tend  to  identify  it  as  Carboniferous,  though 
some  of  the  sections  show  a  wide  vertical  range. 
Probably  a  considerable  amount  of  the  formation 
is  older.  The  few  fossils  I  have  seen  point  to  the 
Carboniferous,  or  older  formations. 

Between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  this  forenoon 
several  white  whales  were  seen  near  the  shore, 
showing  their  white  backs  above  the  water  when 
they  rose  to  breathe,  so  white  at  a  little  distance 
that  they  might  easily  have  been  mistaken  for 
breaking  waves.  We  saw  the  Indians  shoot  and 
kill  one,  and  went  ashore  to  have  a  good  look  at 
this  Beluga.  It  proved  to  be  a  small  one,  only  about 
seven  feet  long,  and  of  a  pale  gray  ashen  color, 

[  134  ] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

probably  a  young  specimen.  In  general  form  it  is 
like  a  whale,  but  more  slender.  The  head  is  narrow 
and  rather  high  in  the  forehead.  The  eyes  are  very 
small,  about  five  eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
The  ears  are  hardly  visible,  would  scarcely  admit  a 
common  lead  pencil.  The  blow-hole,  as  in  the  true 
whales,  is  about  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  fore- 
feet, the  only  limbs,  are  in  the  form  of  short  flip- 
pers, and  the  tail,  which  is  large,  is  formed  by  an 
expansion  of  the  thick  skin.  They  are  more  nearly 
related  to  the  dolphins  than  to  the  whales  —  the 
dolphins,  porpoises,  and  grampuses  forming  one 
of  the  divisions  of  the  three  Cetacea  delphinoidea. 

While  we  were  ashore  looking  at  this  specimen, 
a  much  larger  one  came  along  parallel  with  the 
shore-line  and  not  more  than  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  from  it.  The  natives  were  on  the  watch  and 
shot  it  through  the  body  when  it  rose  to  blow. 
Instead  of  making  out  to  sea  when  wounded,  it  kept 
its  course  alongshore  and  the  natives  followed 
excitedly,  ready  to  get  another  shot.  They  kept  it 
in  sight  while  it  was  ten  or  twelve  feet  under  water, 
which  they  were  enabled  to  do  on  account  of  its 
whiteness.  Eight  or  ten  men  jumped  into  a  canoe 
and  followed  it,  one  standing  in  the  bow  with  a 
spear.  After  swimming  about  half  a  mile  and 
receiving  four  or  more  bullets  from  Henry  and 
Winchester  rifles,  it  began  to  struggle  and  die.  The 
boat  came  up,  an  Eskimo  drove  in  a  spear,  and  the 

[  135  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

whale  was  taken  in  tow  and  brought  back  to  where 
the  first  was  killed,  the  crew,  meanwhile,  singing 
in  triumph.  Then  a  rolling  hitch  was  made,  and  a 
dozen  willing  hands  landed  the  animal,  a  female. 
She  measured  about  twelve  feet  in  length  and  nine 
in  circumference.  They  at  once  began  to  eat  the 
tail  and  back  fin  raw,  cutting  off  blocks  of  it  and 
giving  it  to  the  children,  not  because  they  were 
hungry,  but  because  they  regarded  it  as  so  very 
palatable.  Then  a  fire  was  built  of  driftwood. 
Looking  back  from  the  ship,  only  two  red  spots 
were  visible  on  the  beach  —  and  a  group  of  fifty 
feasting  Eskimos!  Probably  not  a  bit  of  the 
Belugas,  except  a  little  of  the  blubber,  will  be  left 
by  night. 

The  attitudes  of  the  riflemen,  legs  spread,  rifle 
to  shoulder,  and  eyes  vividly  on  the  alert,  as  they 
watched  the  animal's  appearance  above  water, 
were  very  striking.  These  animals  are  quite  abun- 
dant hereabouts,  and  used  to  be  killed  with  spears 
that  had  heads  made  of  stone  or  ivory.  Whales 
were  killed  in  the  same  manner.  A  much  larger 
number  of  right  whales  is  killed  by  the  natives 
about  the  shores  of  Bering  Sea  and  along  the  polar 
shores  than  is  supposed.  Almost  every  village  gets 
from  one  to  five  every  season.  Then  comes  a  joyful 
time.  The  bone  belongs  to  the  boat's  crew  that 
strikes  the  whale,  the  carcass  to  all  the  village. 

A  mountain  slope  just  to  the  northeast  of  Cape 
[  136  ] 


Caribou  and  a  Native  Fair 

Lisburne  is  so  covered  at  the  top  with  slender, 
spirey  columns  of  rock,  that  I  at  first  glance  took 
them  for  trees.  A  slight  dusting  of  snow  has  lately 
whitened  the  peaks.  To  the  south  of  the  Cape 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  two  small  valleys,  cut  nearly 
to  the  level  of  the  sea,  exhibit  terminal  and  lateral 
moraines.  After-glaciation  has  been  light.  The 
higher  mountains  do  not  approach  the  coast  nearly. 
No  deep  fiords  like  those  of  the  west  coast. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE   POLAR  PACK 

JULY 21,  Rainy  this  forenoon,  clear  at  night. 
Wind  blowing  hard  from  the  southeast  and 
raising  a  heavy  swell.  Reached  Icy  Cape  about 
noon  and  found  to  our  disappointment  that,  not- 
withstanding the  openness  of  the  season,  further 
advance  northeastward  was  barred  by  the  ice. 
After  the  sky  began  to  clear  somewhat,  and  the 
rain  to  cease  falling,  we  observed  an  ice-blink 
stretching  all  around  the  northern  horizon  for 
several  hours  before  we  sighted  the  ice,  a  peculiar 
brown  and  yellow  band  within  a  few  degrees  of  the 
horizon.  There  was  a  dark  belt  beneath  it,  which 
indicated  water  beyond  the  ice. 

We  then  turned  westward,  tracing  the  loose- 
drift  edge  of  the  pack  until  eight  in  the  evening, 
when  we  turned  to  the  east  again,  intending  to 
await  the  further  movements  of  the  ice  for  a  few 
days,  and  especially  a  change  of  wind  to  blow  it  off- 
shore. There  is  a  coal-vein  between  here  and  Cape 
Lisburne  which  we  will  visit  and  mine  as  much  coal 
as  possible,  in  case  the  weather  permits.  But  as 
there  is  no  shelter  thereabouts,  we  may  not  be  able 
to  obtain  any  and  in  that  case  will  be  compelled 
to  go  to  Plover  Bay  for  our  next  supply. 

[  138] 


Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

About  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Icy  Cape  there 
IS  quite  a  large  settlement  ^  of  Eskimos  on  the  low, 
sandy,  storm-swept  shore.  Cool  and  breezy  must 
be  their  lives,  and  they  can  have  but  little  induce- 
ment to  look  up,  or  time  to  spend  in  contemplation. 
Theirs  is  one  constant  struggle  for  food,  interrupted 
by  sleep  and  by  a  few  common  quarrels.  In  winter 
they  hibernate  in  noisome  underground  dens.  In 
summer  they  come  out  to  take  breath  in  small 
conical  tents,  made  of  white  drill,  when  they  can 
get  it.  They  waved  a  piece  of  cloth  on  the  end  of  a 
pole  as  we  passed,  inviting  us  to  stop  and  trade 
with  them.  From  Cape  Lisburne  up  the  coast  to 
Point  Barrow  there  is  usually  a  two-knot  current, 
but  the  wind  and  the  ice  have  completely  stopped 
the  flow  at  present.  The  sun  is  above  the  horizon 
at  midnight. 

July  22.  A  dull,  leaden  day;  dark  fog  and  rain 
until  about  four  in  the  afternoon;  rained  but  a  small 
fraction  of  an  inch.  About  noon  we  once  more 
sighted  the  ice-pack.  The  heavy  swell  of  the  sea  is 
rapidly  subsiding  and  the  wind  is  veering  to  the 
northeast.  We  hope  it  will  move  the  ice  offshore 
and  allow  us  to  round  Point  Barrow.  The  pack  is 
close  and  impenetrable,  though  made  up  of  far 
smaller  blocks  than  usual,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the 
mildness  of  last  winter,  and  to  the  chafing  and 

»  Ututok? 
[  139  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

pounding  of  a  succession  of  gales  that  have  been 
driving  over  it  at  intervals  all  the  spring.  We 
pushed  into  it  through  the  loose  outer  fringe,  but 
soon  turned  back  when  we  found  that  it  stretched 
all  around  from  the  shore.  By  retreating  we 
avoided  the  danger  of  getting  fixed  in  it  and  carried 
away.  Nearly  all  the  vessels  that  have  been  lost  in 
the  Arctic  have  been  caught  hereabouts. 

The  approach  to  the  ice  was  signalized  by  the 
appearance  of  walruses,  seals,  and  ducks.  The  wal- 
rus is  very  abundant  here,  and  when  whales  are 
scarce  the  whalers  hunt  and  kill  great  numbers  of 
them  for  their  ivory  and  oil.  They  are  found  on 
cakes  of  ice  in  hundreds,  and  if  a  party  of  riflemen 
can  get  near,  by  creeping  up  behind  some  hum- 
mock, and  kill  the  one  on  guard,  the  rest  seem  to 
be  heedless  of  noise  after  the  first  shot,  and  wait 
until  nearly  all  are  killed.  But  if  the  first  be  only 
wounded,  and  plunges  into  the  water,  the  whole 
**pod"  is  likely  to  follow.  Came  to  anchor  at  half- 
past  ten  this  evening,  a  little  to  the  south  of  Icy 
Cape. 

July  23.  Clear  and  calm.  Weighed  anchor  at 
eight  in  the  morning  and  ran  close  inshore, 
anchored,  and  landed  with  instruments  to  make 
exact  measurements  for  latitude  and  longitude, 
and  to  observe  the  dip.  I  also  went  ashore  to  see 
the  vegetation,  and  Nelson  to  seek  birds  and  look 

[  140  ] 


Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

for  Eskimo  specimens.  Found  only  four  plants  in 
bloom  —  saxifrage,  willow,  artemisia,  and  draba. 
This  is  the  bleakest  and  barest  spot  of  all.  Well 
named  Icy  Cape.  A  low  bar  of  sand  and  shingle 
shoved  up  by  the  ice  that  is  crowded  against  the 
shore  every  year.  Inside  this  bar,  which  is  only  a 
hundred  yards  wide,  there  is  a  stretch  of  water 
several  miles  wide;  then,  low  gravelly  coast.  Sedges 
and  grasses,  dwarfed  and  frost-bitten,  constitute 
the  bulk  of  the  flora. 

We  noticed  traces  of  Eskimo  encampments. 
There  was  blubber  in  abundance  from  a  dead  whale 
that  had  been  cast  up  on  the  shore.  They  had 
plenty  of  food  when  they  left.  But  before  this  they 
must  have  been  hungry,  for  we  found  remains  of 
dogs  that  they  had  been  eating;  also,  white  foxes' 
bones,  picked  clean.  Found  a  dead  walrus  on  the 
beach  beyond  the  wreck  of  the  whale. 

At  one  in  the  afternoon  we  weighed  anchor  and 
turned  north,  crossing  inside  of  Blossom  Shoals, 
which  are  successive  ridges  pushed  up  by  the  ice, 
and  extending  ten  or  twelve  miles  ofi'shore.  In  a 
few  hours  we  reached  the  limit  of  open  water.  The 
ice  extended  out  from  the  shore,  leaving  no  way. 
Turned  again  to  the  south.  Sighted  the  bark 
Northern  Light  ^  and  made  up  to  her.  She  showed 
grandly  with  her  white  canvas  on  the  dark  water, 
now  nearly  calm.  Ice  just  ahead  as  we  accompa- 
*  A  whaler. 

1 141 1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

nied  her  northward  while  the  Captain  visited  her. 
The  sun  is  low  in  the  northwest  at  nine  o'clock. 
A  lovely  evening,  bracing,  cool,  with  a  light  breeze 
blowing  over  the  polar  pack.  The  ice  is  marvelously 
distorted  and  miraged;  thousands  of  blocks  seem 
suspended  in  the  air;  some  even  poised  on  slender 
black  poles  and  pinnacles;  a  bridge  of  ice  with  in- 
numerable piers,  the  ice  and  water  wavering  with 
quick,  glancing  motion.  At  midnight  the  sun  is 
still  above  the  horizon  about  two  diameters;  purple 
to  west  and  east,  gradually  fading  to  dark  slate 
color  in  the  south  with  a  few  banks  of  cloud.  A  bar 
of  gold  in  the  path  of  the  sun  lay  on  the  water  and 
across  the  pack,  the  large  blocks  in  the  line  [of 
vision]  burning  like  huge  coals  of  fire. 

A  little  schooner^  has  a  boat  out  in  the  edge  of 
the  pack  killing  walruses,  while  she  is  lying  a  little 
to  east  of  the  sun.  A  puif  of  smoke  now  and  then, 
a  dull  report,  and  a  huge  animal  rears  and  falls  — 
another,  and  another,  as  they  lie  on  the  ice  without 
showing  any  alarm,  waiting  to  be  killed,  like  cattle 
lying  in  a  barnyard !  Nearer,  we  hear  the  roar,  lion- 
like, mixed  with  hoarse  grunts,  from  hundreds  like 
black  bundles  on  the  white  ice.  A  small  red  flag 
is  planted  near  the  pile  of  slain.  Then  the  three 
men  pull  ofi"  to  their  schooner,  as  it  is  now  midnight 
and  time  for  the  other  watch  to  go  to  work. 

These  magnificent  animals  are  killed  oftentimes 
1  The  R.  B.  Handy,  Captain  Winants. 
[  142  ] 


Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

for  their  tusks  alone,  like  buffaloes  for  their  tongues, 
ostriches  for  their  feathers,  or  for  mere  sport  and 
exercise.  In  nothing  does  man,  with  his  grand 
notions  of  heaven  and  charity,  show  forth  his  in- 
nate, low-bred,  wild  animalism  more  clearly  than 
in  his  treatment  of  his  brother  beasts.  From  the 
shepherd  with  his  lambs  to  the  red-handed  hunter, 
it  is  the  same;  no  recognition  of  rights  —  only 
murder  in  one  form  or  another. 

July  24.  A  lovely  morning,  sunful,  calm,  clear; 
a  broad  swath  of  silver  spangles  in  the  path  of  the 
sun;  ice-blink  to  the  north;  a  pale  sky  to  the  east 
and  around  to  the  south  and  west;  blue  above,  not 
deep  blue;  several  ships  in  sight.  Sabbath  bells  are 
all  that  is  required  to  make  a  Sabbath  of  the  day. 

Ran  inshore  opposite  the  Eskimo  village;  about 
a  hundred  came  off.  Good-natured  as  usual.  A  few 
biscuits  and  a  little  coaxing  from  the  sailors  made 
them  sing  and  dance.  The  Eskimo  women  laughed 
as  heartily  at  the  curious  and  extravagant  gestures 
of  the  men  as  any  of  the  sailors  did.  They  were 
anxious  to  know  what  was  the  real  object  of  the 
Corwin's  cruise,  and  when  the  steam  whaler  Belve- 
dere hove  in  sight  they  inquired  whether  she  had 
big  guns  and  was  the  same  kind  of  ship.  Our  inter- 
preter explained  as  well  as  he  could. 

In  the  afternoon  we  had  the  Sea  Breeze,  the 
Sappho,  the  Northern  Light,  and  the  schooner 

1 143 1 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

about  us.  The  steam  whaler  had  only  six  whales. 
He  had  struck  ten,  taken  four,  and  found  two  dead. 
Last  year  he  took  twenty-seven.  The  whales  were 
in  windrows  then;  at  one  time  twenty-five  were  so 
near  that  no  gaps  between  them  were  so  wide  but 
that  a  man  could  strike  on  either  side.  They  were 
more  abundant  last  year  on  the  American  coast; 
this  year,  on  the  Asiatic.  They  are  always  more 
abundant  in  spring  and  fall  than  during  the  summer. 
Had  a  graphic  account,  from  Captain  Owen,  of 
the  loss  of  the  thirty-three  ships  of  the  whaling 
fleet  near  Point  Barrow  in  1874.  Caution  incul- 
cated by  such  experiences.  Anchored  this  evening 
near  the  Belvedere  and  four  other  vessels.  The 
schooner  people  complain  that  this  is  a  bad  year 
for  "walrusing";  ice  too  thin;  after  killing  a  few 
the  hot  blood  so  weakens  the  ice  that'  in  their 
struggles  they  break  it  and  then  fall  in  and  sink. 

July  25.  Steamed  northward  again,  intending, 
after  reaching  the  ice,  to  make  an  effort  to  go  to 
Point  Barrow  with  the  steam  launch,  and  the  life- 
boat in  tow,  to  seek  the  Daniel  Webster,  and  oifer 
aid  if  necessary.  [This  whaler  is]  now  shut  in  about 
Point  Belcher.  We  found,  however,  that  the  ice 
was  shoved  close  inshore  south  of  Icy  Cape,  and 
extended  in  a  dense  pack  from  there  to  the  south- 
west, leaving  no  boat  channel  even.  This  plan  was 
therefore  abandoned  with  great  reluctance,   and 

[  144  ] 


Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

we  again  moved  southward,  intending  to  coal,  if 
the  weather  allowed,  near  Cape  Lisburne.  Calm, 
lovely  night;  slight  breeze;  going  slowly  under  sail 
alone. 

July  26,  Lovely  day;  gentle  breeze.  Eight  ves- 
sels in  sight  this  morning.  The  Belvedere  got  under 
sail  and  is  proceeding  southward  with  us.  Mirages 
in  wonderful  variety;  ships  pulled  up  and  to  either 
side,  out  of  all  recognition;  the  coast,  with  snow- 
patches  as  gaps,  pulled  up  and  stratified;  the  snow 
looking  like  arched  openings  in  a  dark  bridge  above 
the  waters.  About  nine-thirty  we  noticed  a  rare 
effect  just  beneath  the  sun  —  a  faint,  black,  in- 
definite, cloudlike  bar  extended  along  the  horizon, 
and  immediately  beyond  this  dark  bar  there  was 
a  strip  of  bright,  keenly  defined  colors  like  a  showy 
spectrum,  containing  nearly  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow. 

July  27.  A  lovely  day,  bright  and  calm  and 
warm.  Coaling  ship  from  a  vein  in  a  sandstone  cliff 
twenty  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Lisburne.  In  com- 
pany with  the  Belvedere.  Seeking  fossils.  Discov- 
ered only  two  species  of  plants.  Coal  abundant. 
Mined,  took  out,  and  brought  on  board  fifteen  tons 
to-day.  The  Belvedere  also  is  coaling  and  taking  on 
water.  Three  Eskimo  canoes  came  from  the  south 
this  evening  and  camped  at  the  stream  which  flows 

[145  J 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

into  the  sea  on  the  north  side  of  the  coal  bluff.  The 
dogs  followed  the  canoes  alongshore.  After  camp- 
ing they  came  alongside,  but  not  before  their  re- 
peated signs  of  peace,  consisting  of  throwing  up 
hands  and  shouting  "Tima,"  were  answered  by 
the  officer  of  the  deck.  This  custom  seems  to  be 
dying  out,  also  that  of  embracing  and  nose-rubbing. 

July  28.  Lovely,  tranquil  day,  all  sunshine.  Tak- 
ing coal  until  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon.  Then 
sailed  toward  Herald  Island.  I  spent  the  forenoon 
along  the  face  of  the  shore  cliffs,  seeking  fossils. 
Discovered  only  four,  all  plants.  Went  three  miles 
westward.  Heavy  snowbank,  leaning  back  in  the 
shadow  most  of  the  distance,  almost  changing  to 
ice;  very  deep  and  of  several  years'  formation  — 
not  less  than  forty  feet  in  many  places.  The  cliffs 
or  bluffs  are  from  two  hundred  to  nearly  four  hun- 
dred feet  high,  composed  of  sandstone,  coal,  and 
conglomerate,  the  latter  predominating.  Great 
thickness  of  sediments;  a  mile  or  more  visible  on 
upturned  edges,  which  give  a  furrowed  surface  by 
unequal  weathering.  Some  good  bituminous  coal; 
bums  well.  Veins  forty  feet  thick,  more  or  less 
interrupted  by  clayey  or  sandy  strata.  Fossils  not 
abundant. 

While  I  was  scratching  the  rocks  for  some  light 
on  the  history  of  their  formation,  eight  canoe  loads 
of  Eskimos  with  all  their  goods,  tents,  children, 

[146] 


Zigzags  among  the  Polar  Pack 

etc.,  passed  close  along  the  shore,  going  toward 
Icy  Cape;  all  except  one  were  drawn  by  dogs  — 
from  three  to  five  to  each  canoe  —  attached  by 
a  long  string  of  walrus  hide,  and  driven  by  a 
woman,  or  half-grown  girl,  or  boy.  "Ooch,  ooch, 
ooch,"  they  said,  while  urging  them  along.  They 
dragged  the  canoe  with  perhaps  two  tons  altogether 
at  two  and  one  half  miles  per  hour.  When  they 
came  to  a  sheer  bluff  the  dogs  swam  and  the 
drivers  got  into  the  canoe  until  the  beach  again 
admitted  of  tracking.  The  canoe  that  had  no  dogs 
was  paddled  and  rowed  by  both  men  and  women. 
One  woman,  pulling  an  oar  on  the  starboard  bow, 
was  naked  to  the  waist.  They  came  from  Point 
Hope,  and  arrived  last  evening  at  a  camping- 
ground  on  the  edge  of  a  stream  opposite  the  Cor- 
win's  anchorage.  This  morning  they  had  eight 
tents  and  all  the  food,  canoes,  arms,  dogs,  babies, 
and  rubbish  that  belong  to  a  village.  The  encamp- 
ment looked  like  a  settled  village  that  had  grown  up 
by  enchantment.  Only  one  was  left  after  ten  in  the 
morning,  the  occupants  busying  themselves  cach- 
ing blubber  of  walrus.  In  the  sunshine  some  of  the 
children  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  running  about  naked. 
Eleven-thirty;  a  calm  evening.  The  sun  has  just 
set,  its  disk  curiously  distorted  by  refraction  and 
light  diminished  by  vaporous  haze,  so  that  it  could 
be  looked  at,  a  glorious  orb  of  crimson  and  gold 
with  a  crisp  surface.  .  .  .  Horizontal  layers  of 

1 147] 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

color,  piled  on  each  other  evenly,  made  the  whole 
look  like  cheeses  of  different  sizes  laid  neatly  one 
on  top  of  the  other.  Sketched  the  various  phases. 
It  set  as  a  flat  crimson  cake  of  dull  red.  No  cloud; 
only  haze,  dark  at  the  horizon,  purple  higher,  and 
then  yellow. 

July  2g.  Calm,  lovely,  sunny  day.  Thermome- 
ter standing  at  50°  F.  in  the  shade;  warm  in  the 
sun;  the  water  smooth  with  streaks;  rufiled,  like  an 
alpine  lake;  mostly  glassy,  stirred  with  irregular 
breaths  of  air.  Ice  visible  about  noon,  near  "Post- 
Ofiice  Point."  ^  Fine-grained,  hazy,  luminous  mist 
about  the  horizon.  A  few  gulls  and  ducks.  Sun 
barely  dipped  beneath  the  horizon.  Curiously 
modeled  by  refraction;  bars  dividing  in  sections 
always  horizontal.  Ducks  flying  at  midnight. 

July  30.  Another  glassy,  calm  day,  all  sunshine 
from  midnight  to  midnight.  Kotzebue's  gull,  the 
kittiwake,  about  the  ship;  no  seals  or  walrus. 
Herald  Island  came  in  sight  about  one  o'clock.  At 
a  distance  of  eight  to  ten  miles  we  reached  the  ice, 
but  made  our  way  through  it,  as  it  was  mostly  light 
and  had  openings  here  and  there.  But  we  suffered 
some  hard  bumps;  pushed  slowly  and  got  close 
alongside,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  crew. 

^  Said  to  be  a  point  north  of  Bering  Strait  in  the  Arctic  Ocean 
where,  for  some  reason,  the  drift  of  oceanic  currents  is  not  strong. 
Whalers  and  other  vessels  customarily  went  there  to  exchange 
mail  and  news. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD   ISLAND 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Of  Herald  Island^  Arctic  Ocean, 

July3iyj88i, 

WE  left  Herald  Island  this  morning  at  three 
o'clock,  after  landing  upon  it  and  exploring 
it  pretty  thoroughly  from  end  to  end.  On  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-fifth  we  were  steaming  along 
the  coast  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of  Icy  Cape,  in- 
tending to  make  an  effort  to  reach  Point  Barrow 
in  order  to  give  aid  to  the  whale-ship  Daniel  Web- 
ster, which  we  learned  was  beset  in  the  ice  there- 
abouts and  was  in  great  danger  of  being  lost. 

We  found,  however,  that  the  pack  extended 
solidly  from  Icy  Cape  to  the  southward  and  pressed 
so  hard  against  the  shore  that  we  saw  it  would  be 
impossible  to  proceed  even  with  the  steam  launch. 
We  therefore  turned  back  with  great  reluctance 
and  came  to  anchor  near  Cape  Lisburne,  where 
we  mined  and  took  on  about  thirty  tons  of  coal. 
About  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon,  July  twenty- 
eighth,  we  hoisted  anchor  and  sailed  toward  Herald 
Island,  intending  to  make  a  general  survey  of  the 
edge  of  the  great  polar  ice-pack  about  Wrangell 
Land,  hardly  hoping  to  be  able  to  effect  a  landing 
so  early  in  the  season. 

[  149  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

On  the  evening  of  the  thirtieth  we  reached 
Herald  Island,  having  been  favored  with  delight- 
ful weather  all  the  way,  the  ocean  being  calm  and 
glassy  as  a  mountain  lake,  the  surface  stirred  gently 
here  and  there  with  irregular  breaths  of  air  that 
could  hardly  be  called  winds,  and  the  whole  of  this 
day  from  midnight  to  midnight  was  all  sunshine, 
contrasting  marvelously  with  the  dark,  icy  storm- 
days  we  had  experienced  so  short  a  time  ago. 

Herald  Island  came  in  sight  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  when  we  reached  the  edge  of  the 
pack  it  was  still  about  ten  miles  distant.  We  made 
our  way  through  it,  however,  without  great  diffi- 
culty, as  the  ice  was  mostly  light  and  had  openings 
of  clear  water  here  and  there,  though  in  some  close- 
packed  fields  the  Corwin  was  pretty  roughly 
bumped,  and  had  to  steam  her  best  to  force  a  pas- 
sage. At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  came  to 
anchor  in  the  midst  of  huge  cakes  and  blocks  about 
sixty-five  feet  thick  within  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  shore. 

After  so  many  futile  efforts  had  been  made  last 
year  to  reach  this  little  Ice-bound  Island,  every- 
body seemed  wildly  eager  to  run  ashore  and  climb 
to  the  summit  of  Its  sheer  granite  cliffs.  At  first  a 
party  of  eight  jumped  from  the  bowsprit  chains 
and  ran  across  the  narrow  belt  of  margin  ice  and 
madly  began  to  climb  up  an  excessively  steep 
gully,  which  came  to  an  end  In  an  Inaccessible  slope 

[ISO] 


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^ 


First  Ascent  of  Herald  Island 

a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  water.  Those  ahead 
loosened  and  sent  down  a  train  of  granite  boulders, 
which  shot  over  the  heads  of  those  below  in  a  far 
more  dangerous  manner  than  any  of  the  party 
seemed  to  appreciate.  Fortunately,  nobody  was 
hurt,  and  all  made  out  to  get  down  in  safety.^ 

^  Captain  Hooper's  report  of  the  incident  and  of  Muir's  skillful 
ascent  of  the  island  adds  some  interesting  details:  — 

"Muir,  who  is  an  experienced  mountaineer,  came  over  the  ice 
with  an  axe  in  his  hand,  and,  reaching  the  island  a  few  hundred 
feet  farther  north,  opposite  a  bank  of  frozen  snow  and  ice  a  hun- 
dred feet  high,  standing  at  an  angle  of  50°,  he  deliberately  com- 
menced cutting  steps  and  ascending  the  ice  cliff,  the  top  of  which 
he  soon  reached  without  apparent  difficulty,  and  from  there  the 
top  of  the  island  was  reached  by  a  gradual  ascent  neither  difficult 
nor  dangerous. 

"While  approaching  the  island,  by  a  careful  examination  with 
the  glass,  Muir's  practiced  eye  had  easily  selected  the  most  suit- 
able place  for  making  the  ascent.  The  place  selected  by  the 
others,  or  rather  the  place  upon  which  they  stumbled,  —  for  the 
attempt  to  ascend  was  made  on  the  first  point  reached,  —  was 
a  small,  steep  ravine  about  two  hundred  feet  deep.  The  jagged 
nature  of  its  steep  sides  made  climbing  possible,  and  from  the  sea- 
level  the  top  of  this  ravine  appeared  to  these  ambitious  but  inex- 
perienced mountain-climbers  to  be  the  top  of  the  island.  After 
several  narrow  escapes  from  falling  rocks  they  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing the  top  of  the  ravine,  when  they  discovered  that  the  ascent 
was  hardly  begun.  Above  them  was  a  plain  surface  of  nearly  a 
thousand  feet  in  height,  and  so  steep  that  the  loose,  disintegrating 
rock  with  which  it  was  covered  gave  way  on  the  slightest  touch  and 
came  thundering  to  the  bottom.  Some  of  the  more  ambitious  were 
still  anxious  to  keep  on,  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  and  dan- 
ger, and  I  found  it  necessary  to  interpose  my  authority  to  prevent 
this  useless  risk  of  life  and  limb.  A  retreat  was  ordered,  and  with 
a  good  deal  of  difficulty  accomplished.  The  descent  had  to  be 
made  one  at  a  time,  the  upper  ones  remaining  quiet  until  those 
below  were  out  of  danger.  Fortunately,  all  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  bottom  in  safety.  In  the  meantime  Muir  and  several  others 
had  reached  the  top  of  the  island  and  were  already  searching  for 
cairns  or  other  signs  of  white  men.  Although  the  search  was  kept 

[  isi  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

While  this  remarkable  piece  of  mountaineering 
and  Arctic  exploration  was  in  progress,  a  light  skin- 
covered  boat  was  dragged  over  the  ice  and  launched 
on  a  strip  of  water  that  stretched  in  front  of  an 
accessible  ravine,  the  bed  of  an  ancient  glacier, 
which  I  felt  assured  would  conduct  by  an  easy- 
grade  to  the  summit  of  the  island.  The  slope  of  this 
ravine  for  the  first  hundred  feet  or  so  was  very- 
steep,  but  inasmuch  as  it  was  full  of  firm,  icy  snow, 
it  was  easily  ascended  by  cutting  steps  in  the  face 
of  it  with  an  axe  that  I  had  brought  from  the  ship 
for  the  purpose.  Beyond  this  there  was  not  the 
slightest  difficulty  in  our  way,  the  glacier  having 
graded  a  fine,  broad  road. 

Kellett,  who  discovered  this  island  in  1849,  and 
landed  on  it  under  unfavorable  circumstances,  de- 
scribed it  as  "an  inaccessible  rock."  In  general  the 
sides  are,  indeed,  extremely  sheer  and  precipitous 
all  around,  though  skilled  mountaineers  would  find 
many  gullies  and  slopes  by  which  they  might  reach 
the  summit.  I  first  pushed  on  to  the  head  of  the 
glacier  valley,  and  thence  along  the  backbone  of 
the  island  to  the  highest  point,  which  I  found  to 
be  about  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  This  point  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  northwest  end,  and  four  and  a  half  from  the 

up  until  half-past  two  in  the  morning,  nothing  was  found."  (C.  L. 
Hooper's  Report  oj  the  Cruise  oj  the  U.S.  Revenue  Steamer  Thomas 
Corwin  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  1881,  p.  52.) 

[  152] 


First  Ascent  of  Herald  Island 

northeast  end,  thus  making  the  island  about  six 
miles  in  length.  It  has  been  cut  nearly  in  two 
by  the  glacial  action  it  has  undergone,  the  width 
at  the  lowest  portion  being  about  half  a  mile,  and 
the  average  width  about  two  miles. 

The  entire  island  is  a  mass  of  granite,  with  the 
exception  of  a  patch  of  metamorphic  slate  near 
the  center,  and  no  doubt  owes  its  existence,  with 
so  considerable  a  height,  to  the  superior  resistance 
this  granite  offered  to  the  degrading  action  of  the 
northern  ice-sheet,  traces  of  which  are  here  plainly 
shown,  as  well  as  on  the  shores  of  Siberia  and 
Alaska  and  down  through  Bering  Strait  southward 
beyond  Vancouver  Island.  Traces  of  the  subse- 
quent partial  glaciation  to  which  it  has  been  sub- 
jected are  also  manifested  in  glacial  valleys  of  con- 
siderable depth  as  compared  with  the  size  of  the 
island.  I  noticed  four  of  these,  besides  many  mar- 
ginal glacial  grooves  around  the  sides.  One  small 
remnant  [of  a  glacier]  with  feeble  action  still  exists 
near  the  middle  of  the  island.  I  also  noted  several 
scored  and  polished  patches  on  the  hardest  and 
most  enduring  of  the  outswelling  rock-bosses.  This 
little  island,  standing  as  it  does  alone  out  in  the 
Polar  Sea,  is  a  fine  glacial  monument. 

The  midnight  hour  I  spent  alone  on  the  highest 
summit  —  one  of  the  most  impressive  hours  of  my 
life.  The  deepest  silence  seemed  to  press  down  on 
all  the  vast,  immeasurable,  virgin  landscape.  The 

[153  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

sun  near  the  horizon  reddened  the  edges  of  belted 
cloud-bars  near  the  base  of  the  sky,  and  the  jagged 
ice-boulders  crowded  together  over  the  frozen 
ocean  stretching  indefinitely  northward,  while  per- 
haps a  hundred  miles  of  that  mysterious  Wrangell 
Land  was  seen  blue  in  the  northwest  —  a  wavering 
line  of  hill  and  dale  over  the  white  and  blue  ice- 
prairie!  Pale  gray  mountains  loomed  beyond,  well 
calculated  to  fix  the  eye  of  a  mountaineer.  But  It 
was  to  the  far  north  that  I  ever  found  myself  turn- 
ing, to  where  the  ice  met  the  sky.  I  would  fain  have 
watched  here  all  the  strange  night,  but  was  com- 
pelled to  remember  the  charge  given  me  by  the  Cap- 
tain, to  make  haste  and  return  to  the  ship  as  soon 
as  I  should  find  it  possible,  as  there  was  ten  miles  of 
shifting,  drifting  ice  between  us  and  the  open  sea. 
I  therefore  began  the  return  journey  about  one 
o'clock  this  morning,  after  taking  the  compass 
bearings  of  the  principal  points  within  sight  on 
Wrangell  Land,  and  making  a  hasty  collection  of 
the  flowering  plants  on  my  way.  I  found  one  spe- 
cies of  poppy  quite  showy,  and  making  consider- 
able masses  of  color  on  the  sloping  uplands,  three 
or  four  species  of  saxifrage,  one  silene,  a  draba, 
dwarf  willow,  stellaria,  two  golden  compositae, 
two  sedges,  one  grass,  and  a  veronica,  together 
with  a  considerable  number  of  mosses  and  lichens, 
some  of  them  quite  showy  and  so  abundant  as  to- 
furnish  most  of  the  color  over  the  gray  granite. 

[IS4] 


First  Ascent  of  Herald  Island 

Innumerable  gulls  and  murres  breed  on  the  steep 
cliffs,  the  latter  most  abundant.  They  kept  up  a 
constant  din  of  domestic  notes.  Some  of  them  are 
sitting  on  their  eggs,  others  have  young,  and  it 
seems  astonishing  that  either  eggs  or  the  young  can 
find  a  resting-place  on  cliffs  so  severely  precipitous. 
The  nurseries  formed  a  lively  picture  —  the  par- 
ents coming  and  going  with  food  or  to  seek  it, 
thousands  in  rows  standing  on  narrow  ledges  like 
bottles  on  a  grocer's  shelves,  the  feeding  of  the 
little  ones,  the  multitude  of  wings,  etc. 

Foxes  were  seen  by  Mr.  Nelson  ^  near  the  top  of 
the  northeast  end  of  the  island,  and  after  we  had 

*  In  a  recent  article  on  "  The  Larger  North  American  Mam- 
mals" Mr.  E.  W.  Nelson  has  given  the  following  account  of  this 
incident:  — 

"The  summer  of  1881,  when  we  landed  from  the  Corwin  on 
Herald  Island,  northwest  of  Bering  Straits,  we  found  many  white 
foxes  living  in  burrows  under  large  scattered  rocks  on  the  plateau 
summit.  They  had  never  seen  men  before  and  our  presence  ex- 
cited their  most  intense  interest  and  curiosity.  One  and  some- 
times two  of  them  followed  closely  at  my  heels  wherever  I  went, 
and  when  I  stopped  to  make  notes  or  look  about,  sat  down  and 
watched  me  with  absurd  gravity.  Now  and  then  one  at  a  distance 
would  mount  a  rock  to  get  a  better  view  of  the  stranger. 

"On  returning  to  the  ship,  I  remembered  that  my  notebook 
had  been  left  on  a  large  rock  over  a  fox  den,  on  the  island,  and  at 
once  went  back  for  it.  I  had  been  gone  only  a  short  time,  but  no 
trace  of  the  book  could  be  found  on  or  about  the  rock,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  owner  of  the  den  had  confiscated  it.  Several 
other  foxes  sat  about  viewing  my  search  with  interest  and  when 
I  left  followed  me  to  the  edge  of  the  island.  A  nearly  grown  young 
one  kept  on  the  Corwin  was  extraordinarily  intelligent,  inquisi- 
tive, and  mischievous,  and  afforded  all  of  us  much  amusement 
and  occasional  exasperation."  {National  Geographic  Magazine, 
November,  1916,  p.  425.) 

[issl 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

all  returned  to  the  ship  and  were  getting  under 
way,  the  Captain  discovered  a  polar  bear  swim- 
ming deliberately  toward  the  ship  between  some 
floating  blocks  within  a  few  yards  of  us.  After  he 
had  approached  within  about  a  dozen  yards  the 
Captain  shot  at  him,  when  he  turned  and  made 
haste  to  get  away,  not  diving,  however,  but  swim- 
ming fast,  and  keeping  his  head  turned  to  watch 
the  ship,  until  at  length  he  received  a  ball  in  the 
neck  and  stained  the  blue  water  with  his  blood. 
He  was  a  noble-looking  animal  and  of  enormous 
strength,  living  bravely  and  warm  amid  eternal 
ice. 

We  looked  carefully  everywhere  for  traces  of  the 
crew  of  the  Jeannette  along  the  shore,  as  well  as  on 
the  prominent  headlands  and  cliffs  about  the  sum- 
mit, without  discovering  the  faintest  sign  of  their 
ever  having  touched  the  island. 

We  have  been  steaming  along  the  edge  of  the 
pack  all  day  after  reaching  open  water,  with 
Wrangell  Land  constantly  in  sight;  but  we  find 
that  the  ice  has  been  sheering  us  off  farther  and 
farther  from  it  toward  the  west  and  south.  The 
margin  of  the  main  pack  has  a  jagged  saw-tooth 
outline,  the  teeth  being  from  two  to  ten  miles  or 
more  in  length,  and  their  points  reaching  about 
forty  miles  from  the  shore  of  Wrangell  Land.  Our 
chances,  however,  of  reaching  this  mysterious 
country  some  time  this  year  seem  good  at  present, 

[  iS6  ] 


First  Ascent  of  Herald  Island 

alls  the  ice  is  melting  fast  and  is  much  lighter  than 
usual,  and  its  wind  and  current  movements,  after 
it  breaks  up,  will  be  closely  watched  for  an  avail- 
able opening. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS   LAND 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Of  Point  Barrow,  August  i6,  i88i, 

WE  left  Herald  Island  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  July  31.  The  clear  water  seen 
by  me  from  the  top  of  the  island  is  called  "the 
Hole  "  by  whalers.  I  am  told  that  it  is  remarkably 
constant  in  its  appearance  and  position  from  year 
to  year.  What  combination  of  currents,  coast-lines, 
winds,  etc.,  is  the  cause  of  it  is  not  yet  known. 
Neither  is  the  Post-Office  Point  of  ice  understood. 
On  the  day  after  leaving  Herald  Island  the  fine 
weather  we  had  been  enjoying  for  a  week  began  to 
vanish,  heavy  cloud-piles  grew  about  the  horizon, 
and  reeking  fogs  over  the  ice.  We  kept  on  around 
the  serrated  edge  of  the  pack,  and  were  glad  to  find 
a  wide  opening  trending  to  the  northwest,  that  is, 
toward  the  southmost  point  of  Wrangell  Land. 
Up  we  steamed,  excited  with  bright  hopes  of  effect- 
ing a  landing  and  searching  the  shores  for  traces  of 
the  Jeannette.  In  the  afternoon,  while  yet  our  way 
was  tolerably  clear,  and  after  the  land  had  been 
long  in  sight,  we  were  enveloped  in  fog,  and  hove  to, 
instead  of  attempting  to  grope  a  course  through 
the  drift  ice  and  running  the  danger  of  getting  the 

[iS8] 


Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 

ship  embayed.  A  few  seals,  gulls,  and  walruses  were 
observed. 

Next  day,  August  2,  the  fog  lifted  early  in  the 
morning,  when  we  got  under  way  and  pushed  hope- 
fully onward  once  more,  with  the  mountains  and 
blue  foothills  of  the  long-lost  land  in  full  view, 
until  noon,  making  our  way  easily  through  the 
drift  ice,  dodging  to  right  and  left  past  the  large 
masses,  some  of  which  were  a  mile  or  more  in 
length.  Then  the  fog  began  to  settle  again  over  all 
the  wild  landscape;  the  barometer  was  falling,  and 
the  wind  began  to  blow  with  indications  of  a  stiff 
breeze  that  would  probably  press  the  ice  toward 
the  shore.  Under  these  conditions  we  dared  not 
venture  farther,  but  loath  to  turn  back  we  made 
fast  to  an  ice-floe  and  waited  developments.  The 
fog  partially  cleared  again,  which  induced  us  to 
make  another  short  push  ahead,  but  our  hopes 
were  again  and  again  baffled  by  darkness  and 
close-packed  ice,  and  we  were  at  length  compelled 
to  seek  the  open  water  once  more,  and  await  a 
general  calm  and  clearance. 

A  piece  of  wood  twenty-seven  inches  long,  cut 
with  a  sharp  axe,  was  picked  up  in  the  morning 
within,  perhaps,  twenty-five  miles  of  Wrangell 
Land.  It  was  evident,  by  its  length  and  by  the  way 
it  was  split  and  cut,  that  it  was  intended  for  fire- 
wood. It  seemed  clearly  to  be  the  work  of  white 
men,  possibly  of  some  of  the  Jeannette's  crew.  But 

I  159] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  grand  excitement  of  the  day,  apart  from  the 
untrodden  shore  we  were  seeking,  was  caused  by 
three  polar  bears,  magnificent  fellows,  fat  and 
hearty,  rejoicing  in  their  strength  out  here  in  the 
bosom  of  the  icy  wilderness. 

When  discovered  they  were  regarding  us  atten- 
tively from  a  large  cake  of  ice,  each  on  a  hummock 
commanding  a  good  view  of  the  ship,  an  object 
they  no  doubt  saw  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives. 
One  of  them  was  perched  on  top  of  a  pile  of  blocks, 
the  topmost  of  which  was  a  pedestal  square  and 
level  as  if  built  up  for  an  outlook.  He  sat  erect  and, 
as  he  was  nearly  the  color  of  the  ice,  was  not 
noticed  until  we  were  quite  near.  They  watched, 
motionless,  for  some  time,  throwing  forward  their 
long  necks  and  black-tipped  noses  as  if  trying  to 
catch  and  pass  judgment  on  the  scent  of  the  big, 
smoking,  black  monster  that  was  approaching  them. 

When  we  were  within  about  fifty  yards  of  them, 
they  started,  walked  a  step  or  two,  and  turned  to 
gaze  again  as  the  strange  object  came  nearer.  Then 
they  showed  fear  and  began  to  lumber  along  over 
and  across  the  wavelike  rough  hills  and  dales  of 
the  ice,  afraid,  perhaps,  for  the  first  time  in  their 
lives.  For  polar  bears  are  the  master  existences  of 
these  frozen  regions,  the  walruses  being  no  match 
for  them.  First  they  broke  into  a  lumbering  trot; 
then,  into  a  panicky,  walloppy  gallop,  with  fewer 
and  fewer  halts  to  look  back,  until  they  reached 

[  i6o] 


Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 

the  far  side  of  the  ice-field  and  plunged  into  the 
water  with  a  splash  that  sent  the  spray  ten  feet 
'into  the  air.  Then  they  swam,  making  all  haste 
toward  a  larger  floe.  If  they  could  have  gained  it 
they  would  have  made  good  their  retreat.  But  the 
steamer  gave  chase  at  the  rate  of  seven  knots  an 
hour,  headed  them  off,  and  all  were  shot  without 
the  least  chance  of  escape,  and  without  their  being 
able  to  offer  the  slightest  resistance. 

The  first  one  overtaken  was  killed  instantly  at 
the  second  shot,  which  passed  through  the  brain. 
The  other  two  were  fired  at  by  five  fun-,  fur-,  and 
fame-seekers,  with  heavy  breech-loading  rifles, 
about  forty  times  ere  they  were  killed.  From  four 
to  six  bullets  passed  through  their  necks  and  shoul- 
ders before  the  last  through  the  brain  put  an  end  to 
their  agony.  The  brain  is  small  and  not  easily  pene- 
trated, except  from  the  side  of  the  head,  while  their 
bodies  may  be  shot  through  and  through  a  score 
of  times,  apparently,  without  disabling  them  for 
fighting  or  swimming.  When  a  bullet  went  through 
the  neck,  they  would  simply  shake  their  heads 
without  making  any  sort  of  outcry,  the  effect  being 
simply  to  hasten  their  flight.  The  same  was  true 
of  most  other  wounds.  But  occasionally,  when 
struck  in  the  spine,  or  shoulder,  the  pain  would 
make  them  roar,  and  groan,  and  turn  to  examine 
the  spot,  or  to  snap  at  the  wound  as  if  seeking  an 
enemy.    They  would  dive  occasionally,  and  swim 

r  i6i  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

under  water  a  few  yards.  But,  being  out  of  breath, 
they  were  always  compelled  to  come  up  in  a  min- 
ute or  so.  They  had  no  chance  whatever  for  their 
lives,  and  the  whole  affair  was  as  safe  and  easy  a 
butchery  as  shooting  cows  in  a  barnyard  from  the 
roof  of  the  barn.  It  was  prolonged,  bloody  agony, 
as  clumsily  and  heartlessly  inflicted  as  it  could  well 
be,  except  In  the  case  of  the  first,  which  never  knew 
what  hurt  him. 

The  Eskimos  hunt  and  kill  them  for  food,  going 
out  to  meet  them  on  the  ice  with  spears  and  dogs. 
This  is  merely  one  savage  living  on  another.  But 
how  civilized  people,  seeking  for  heavens  and 
angels  and  millenniums,  and  the  reign  of  universal 
peace  and  love,  can  enjoy  this  red,  brutal  amuse- 
ment, is  not  so  easily  accounted  for.  Such  soft, 
fuzzy,  sentimental  aspirations,  and  the  frame  of 
mind  that  can  reap  giggling,  jolly  pleasure  from 
the  blood  and  agony  and  death  of  these  fine  ani- 
mals, with  their  humanlike  groans,  are  too  devilish 
for  anything  but  hell.  Of  all  the  animals  man  is  at 
once  the  worst  and  the  best. 

Two  of  the  bears  were  hoisted  on  board,  the  other 
was  neglected  until  it  could  not  be  found.  Then 
came  the  vulgar  business  of  skinning  and  throwing 
the  mangled  carcasses  back  into  the  clean  blue 
water  among  the  ice.  The  skins  were  stretched  on 
frames  to  be  dried  and  taken  home  to  show  angelic 
sweethearts  the  evidence  of  pluck  and  daring. 

[  162] 


Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 

The  Indians  sometimes  adorn  their  belts  with 
the  claws  of  bears  and  place  their  skulls  about  the 
graves  of  the  men  who  killed  them.  I  have  seen  as 
many  as  eighteen  set  about  the  skeleton  of  an 
Eskimo  hunter,  making  for  his  bones  an  oval  en- 
closure like  a  frame  of  shells  set  around  a  grave. 
The  strength  of  the  polar  bear  is  in  proportion  to 
the  massiveness  of  his  limbs.  The  view  of  their 
limb  muscles,  swelling  in  braided  bosses,  could  not 
fail  to  awaken  admiration  as  they  lay  exposed  on 
the  deck.  Such  is  the  strength  of  the  large  bears, 
which  are  nine  to  ten  feet  long,  that  they  can  stand 
on  the  edge  of  an  ice-floe  and  drag  up  out  of  the 
water  a  walrus  weighing  more  than  a  thousand 
pounds. 

The  feet  of  the  larger  one  measured  nine  and  a 
half  inches  across  behind  the  toes.  They  have  long 
hair  on  the  soles  and  around  the  sides  of  the  feet 
for  warmth  in  the  dreary  solitudes  which  they 
inhabit.  When  standing,  the  claws  are  not  visible; 
the  whole  foot  seems  to  be  a  large  mop  of  hair 
spreading  all  around.  The  expression  of  the  eye  is 
rather  mild  and  doglike  in  the  shape  of  the  muzzle 
and  the  droop  of  the  lips,  and  only  the  teeth  would 
suggest  his  character  as  a  killer. 

The  third  of  August  was  spent  in  groping  anx- 
iously landward  again  through  fog  and  ice  until 
about  six  in  the  evening,  when  we  reached  the 
heavy,  unbroken  edge  of  the  coast  ice,  at  a  distance 

[  163  J 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

of  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  nearest  point 
of  land,  and  all  hope  of  advancing  farther  was  now 
at  an  end.  We,  therefore,  turned  away,  determined 
to  bide  our  time,  hoping  that  warm  winds  and 
waves  would  at  length  melt  and  smash  the  heavy 
fields  alongshore  some  time  before  the  setting-in  of 
winter.  Nor  were  we  altogether  without  hope  of 
finding  open  water  leading  around  the  west  shore 
of  Wrangell  Land.  We  soon  found,  however,  that 
the  pack  stretched  continuously  across  to  Cape 
North  on  the  Siberian  coast,  thus  promptly  forbid- 
ding all  efforts  in  that  direction. 

The  bottom  of  the  ocean  in  that  region  is  very 
level.  Soundings  made  every  hour  for  three  days  ^ 
varied  scarcely  more  than  five  fathoms,  and  for 
half  a  day  not  one  fathom.  We  saw  several  small 
fishes  among  the  ice  at  our  nearest  point  to  lee; 
also  seals,  both  saddleback  and  hair.  Just  as  we 
were  turning  we  discovered  a  bear  observing  us 
from  a  large  field  of  ice.  He  kept  coming  nearer  a 
few  steps  and  then  halting  to  catch  the  smell  of  the 
ship.  We  did  not  attempt  to  kill  him,  however,  as 
the  advantage  we  had  was  not  great  enough.  We 
could  not  chase  him  here  with  the  steamer. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  we  discovered  a 

ship's  foreyard  with  bits  of  rope  still  attached  to 

it  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  it  had  been  carried 

away  while  the  sail  was  bent.    It  seemed  to  have 

*  In  an  average  depth  of  twenty-one  fathoms. 

[  164  ] 


Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 

been  ground  in  the  ice  for  a  winter  or  two,  and 
probably  belonged  to  one  of  the  missing  whalers. 

After  cruising  along  the  Siberian  coast  for  a  few 
days,  and  calling  at  the  Cape  Wankarem  village 
to  procure  as  many  as  possible  of  the  articles  taken 
by  the  natives  from  the  wreck  of  one  of  the  lost 
whalers,  we  found  ourselves  once  more  on  the  edge 
of  Wrangell  ice,  and  again  in  dense  fog  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  ninth  of  August.  A  huge  white  bear  came 
swimming  through  the  drizzle  and  gloom  and  black 
heaving  waves  toward  the  ship  as  we  lay  at  anchor, 
guided  doubtless  by  scent.  He  was  greeted  by  a 
volley  of  rifle  balls,  no  one  of  which  injured  him, 
however,  and  fortunately  he  could  not  be  pursued. 

The  fog  lasted  in  dismal  thickness  until  one 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh,  when  we 
once  more  saw  the  hills  and  dales  of  Wrangell  Land 
hopefully  near.  We  discovered  a  lead  that  enabled 
us  to  approach  within  perhaps  fifteen  miles  of  the 
nearest  portion  of  the  coast.  At  times  we  thought 
ourselves  much  nearer,  when  the  light,  falling 
favorably,  would  bring  out  many  of  the  smaller 
features,  such  as  the  subordinate  ridges  on  the 
faces  of  the  mountains  and  hills,  the  small  dimpling 
hollows  with  their  different  shades  of  color,  fur- 
rows that  seemed  the  channels  of  small  streams, 
and  the  peculiar  rounded  outlines  due  to  glacial 
action.  Then  pushing  eagerly  through  the  huge 
drifting  masses  toward  the  nearest  cape,  judging 

[i6sl 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

by  the  distinctness  of  its  features,  it  would  sud- 
denly seem  to  retreat  again  into  the  blue  distance, 
and  some  other  point  catching  the  sunlight  would 
be  seen  rising  grandly  across  the  jagged,  hum- 
mocky  ice-plain,  relieved  against  the  blue  shadowy 
portions  to  right  and  left  as  a  background. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  after  tracing  one  lead 
after  another,  and  coming  always  to  a  standstill 
with  the  ship's  prow  against  ice  of  enormous  thick- 
ness, before  we  were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
all  efforts  made  hereabouts  would  now  be  vain. 
The  ice  did  not  seem  to  have  been  broken  or  moved 
in  any  way  for  years.  We  turned,  therefore,  and 
made  our  way  back  to  open  water  with  difficulty 
and  steamed  along  the  edge  of  the  pack  to  the  north- 
eastward. After  a  few  hours'  run  we  found  the  ice 
more  promising,  for  it  showed  traces  of  having 
been  well  crushed  and  pounded,  enabling  us  to  bear 
gradually  in  toward  the  land  through  a  wedge- 
shaped  lead  about  twenty  miles  in  length. 

At  half-past  five  in  the  afternoon  we  were  again 
brought  to  a  standstill  against  heavy  ice,  but  this 
time  within  about  five  miles  of  the  shore.  We  now 
felt  pretty  sure  that  we  would  be  able  to  make  a 
landing,  and  the  questions  that  we  wanted  to  put 
to  this  land  of  mystery  came  thronging  to  mind. 
This  being,  perhaps,  the  most  likely  place  to  find 
traces  of  the  Jeannette  expedition,  in  case  any  por- 
tion of  this  island  was  reached,  would  we  find  such 

[  i66  ] 


Approaching  a  Mysterious  Land 

traces?  Has  the  country  any  human  Inhabitants? 
Would  we  find  reindeer  or  musk  oxen  ?  What  birds 
shall  we  find  ?  What  plants,  rocks,  streams,  etc.  ? 

We  intended  to  walk  the  five  miles  of  ice,  drag- 
ging a  light  skin-covered  boat  with  us  to  cross  any 
open  spot  that  we  might  come  to;  but  ere  we  could 
set  off,  the  fog  began  to  settle  gloomily  down  over 
the  land  and  we  determined  to  wait  until  the  next 
morning,  and  in  the  meantime  steam  back  out  of 
the  narrow,  ice-jammed  throat  of  the  lead  a  few 
miles  to  a  safer  position,  in  case  the  ice  should  close 
upon  us.  Just  as  we  turned  from  our  nearest  point 
of  approach,  we  fired  a  cannon  to  stir  the  echoes 
among  the  hills  and  give  notice  of  our  presence  in 
case  anybody  was  near  to  listen. 

The  next  morning,  steaming  ahead  once  more 
to  the  end  of  our  water-lane,  we  were  rejoiced  to 
find  that  though  there  were  now  about  eight  or  ten 
miles  of  ice  separating  us  from  the  shore,  it  was  less 
firmly  packed,  and  our  little  vessel  made  a  way 
through  it  without  difficulty,  until  we  were  within 
two  miles  of  the  shore,  when  we  found  the  craggy 
blocks  extremely  hard  and  wedged  closely.  But  a 
patch  of  open  water  near  the  beach,  now  plainly  in 
sight,  tempted  us  to  continue  the  struggle,  and  with 
the  throttle  wide  open  the  barrier  was  forced.  By 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Corwin  was  riding 
at  anchor  less  than  a  cable's  length  from  a  dry, 
gravel  bar,  stretching  in  front  of  the  mouth  of  a 

[  167] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwtn 

river.  The  long  battle  we  had  fought  with  the  ice 
was  now  fairly  won,  and  neither  the  engine  nor  the 
hull  of  the"  ship  seemed  to  have  suffered  any  appre- 
ciable damage  from  the  terrible  shocks  and  strains 
they  had  undergone. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

[Steamer  Corwirif 
Wrangell  Land^  August  12,  l88l,\ 

A  NOTABLE  addition  was  made  to  the  national 
domain  when  Captain  Calvin  L.  Hooper 
landed  on  Wrangell  Land,^  and  took  formal  posses- 
sion of  it  in  the  name  of  the  United  States.  We 
landed  near  the  southeast  cape,  at  the  mouth  of  a 
river,  in  latitude  71°  4',  longitude  177°  40'  30"  W. 
The  extent  of  the  new  territory  thus  acquired  is  not 
definitely  known,  nor  is  likely  to  be  for  many  a  cen- 
tury, or  until  some  considerable  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  polar  climate,  rendering  the  new  land 
more  attractive  and  more  accessible.  For  at  pres- 
ent even  its  southmost  portion  is  almost  constantly 
beset  with  ice  of  a  kind  that  renders  it  all  but  in- 
accessible during  both  the  winter  and  summer, 
while  to  the  northward  it  extends  far  into  the 
frozen  ocean. 

Going  inland,  along  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
we  found  it  much  larger  than  it  at  first  appeared 
to  be.  There  was  no  snow  left  on  the  lowlands  or 
any  of  the  hills  or  mountains  in  sight,  excepting  the 
remnants  of  heavy  drifts;  nevertheless,  it  was  still 

*  The  landing  was  made  August  12,  1881. 

[  169] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

about  seventy-five  yards  wide,  twelve  feet  deep, 
and  was  flowing  on  with  a  clear,  stately  current, 
at  a  speed  of  about  three  miles  an  hour.  While  the 
snow  is  melting  it  must  be  at  least  two  hundred 
yards  wide  and  twenty  feet  deep,  and  its  sources 
must  lie  well  back  in  the  interior  of  the  island. 

Not  the  slightest  trace,  however,  could  we  find 
along  the  river,  along  the  shore,  or  on  the  blufi"  to 
the  northeastward,  of  the  Jeannette  party,  or  of 
any  human  inhabitant.  A  land  more  severely  soli- 
tary could  hardly  be  found  anywhere  on  the  face 
of  the  globe. 

The  beach  was  well  tracked  by  polar  bears,  but 
none  of  the  party  could  discover  any  sign  of  rein- 
deer or  musk  oxen,  though  the  country  seems  to 
abound  in  the  kind  of  food  they  require.  A  single 
fox  track  was  observed,  and  some  burrows  of  a 
species  of  spermophile;^  also  a  number  of  birds,^ 

^  E.  W.  Nelson,  in  Mammals  of  Northern  Alaska  (1886),  iden- 
tified this  spermophile  as  Spermophilus  empetra  empetra  (Pallas), 
and  remarks,  "upon  the  hill  where  we  planted  our  flag  on 
Wrangell  Island  were  many  of  their  burrows." 

2  The  following  birds  were  observed  by  Mr.  Nelson  on  Wrangell 
Land  and  Herald  Island:  Snow  Bunting,  Snowy  Owl,  Pacific 
Golden  Plover,  Pectoral  Sandpiper,  Red  Phalarope,  some  kind 
of  wild  goose  (perhaps  Black  Brant),  King  Eider  Duck,  Red- 
faced  Cormorant,  Ivory  Gull,  Pacific  Kittiwake,  Glaucous  Gull, 
Glaucous-winged  Gull,  Ross's  Gull,  Sabine's  Gull,  Pomarine 
Jaeger,  Long-tailed  Jaeger,  Rodgers's  Fulmar,  Horned  Puffin, 
Crested  Auk,  Black  Guillemot,  Pigeon  Guillemot,  Thick-billed 
Guillemot,  and  a  dead  specimen  of  the  Crested  Shrike.  This  list  is 
made  from  E.  W.  Nelson's  Birds  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic 
Ocean ^  published  with  Muir's  botanical  observations  in  Treasury 
Department  Document  No.  429  (1883). 

[   170  ] 


T^he  Land  of  the  White  Bear 

and  about  twenty  species  of  plants,^  most  of  them 
in  bloom.  The  rock  is  clay  slate,  which  weathers 
smoothly,  and  is  covered  with  a  sparse  growth  of 
mosses,  lichens,  and  flowering  plants,  not  unlike 
that  of  the  adjacent  coasts  of  Siberia  and  Alaska. 

Some  small  fragments  of  knowledge  concerning 
this  mysterious  country  have  been  in  existence  for 
nearly  a  century,  mostly,  however,  of  so  vague  and 
foggy  a  character  as  to  be  scarce  at  all  available  as 
geography,  while  up  to  the  time  of  Captain  Hoop- 
er's visit  no  explorer  so  far  as  known  had  set  foot 
on  it.  In  the  year  1820  Lieutenant  Wrangell  was 
ordered  by  Alexander,  Emperor  of  Russia,  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  mouth  of  the  Kolyma  as  far  as  Cape 
Schelagskoj,  and  from  thence  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion over  the  ice  with  sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  to 
ascertain  whether  an  inhabited  country  existed  in 
that  quarter,  as  asserted  by  the  Chukchis  and 
others. 

But  the  land  in  question  was  far  from  being  gen- 
erally known  even  by  tradition  among  the  Chuk- 
chis inhabiting  the  Siberian  coast  nearest  to  it. 
Wrangell  seems  to  have  found  only  one  person  dur- 
ing his  long  search  for  this  land  that  had  heard  or 
could  tell  him  anything  concerning  it.  This  man, 
an  intelligent  chief  or  head  of  a  family,  drew  with 
charcoal  a  correct  sketch  of  Cape  Schelagskoj, 
Aratuan  Island,  and  another  to  the  east  of  the 
1  See  "Botanical  Notes,"  p.  272. 

[  171  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Cape,  and  then  assured  Wrangell  in  the  most  posi- 
tive manner  that  there  was  no  other  island  along 
the  coast.  When  asked  whether  there  was  any- 
other  land  to  the  north  beyond  the  visible  horizon, 
he  seemed  to  reflect  a  little,  and  then  said  that, 
between  Cape  Schelagskoj  and  Cape  North,  there 
was  a  part  of  the  coast  where,  from  some  cliff's  near 
the  mouth  of  a  river,  one  might  on  a  clear  summer 
day  descry  snow-covered  mountains  at  a  great  dis- 
tance to  the  north,  but  that  in  winter  it  was  impos- 
sible to  see  so  far.  He  said  also  that  formerly  herds 
of  reindeer  sometimes  came  across  the  ice,  prob- 
ably from  thence,  but  that  they  had  been  fright- 
ened back  by  hunters  and  wolves.  He  claimed  to 
have  himself  once  seen  a  herd  returning  to  the 
north  in  this  way  in  April,  and  followed  them  in  a 
sledge  drawn  by  two  deer  for  a  whole  day  until  the 
roughness  of  the  ice  forced  him  to  turn  back.  His 
opinion  was  that  these  distant  mountains  he  had 
seen  were  not  on  an  island,  but  on  an  extensive  land 
similar  to  his  own  country. 

He  had  been  told  by  his  father  that  a  Chukchi 
elder  had  once  gone  there  with  a  few  followers  in 
large  boats,  but  what  they  found  there,  or  whether 
they  ever  returned,  he  did  not  know.  Still  he  main- 
tained that  the  distant  land  was  inhabited,  and 
adduced  as  proof  of  it  that  some  years  ago  a  dead 
whale  was  found  at  Aratuan  Island  pierced  by 
spears  pointed  with  slate;  and  as  his  people  did  not 

[  172  ] 


"The  Land  of  the  TVhite  Bear 

use  such  weapons  he  supposed  that  the  whale  must 
have  been  killed  by  the  people  of  the  northland. 

After  spending  three  winters  Baron  Wrangell 
wrote  concerning  this  country:  "Our  return  to 
Nishne  Kolymsk  closed  the  series  of  attempts  made 
by  us  to  discover  a  northern  land,  which  though 
not  seen  by  us,  may  nevertheless  exist,  and  be 
attainable  under  a  combination  of  very  favorable 
circumstances,  the  principal  of  which  would  be  a 
long,  cold,  and  stormless  winter,  and  a  late  spring. 
If  another  attempt  should  be  made,  it  would  be 
advisable  to  leave  the  coast  about  Cape  Yakan, 
which  all  the  native  accounts  concur  in  represent- 
ing as  the  nearest  point  to  the  supposed  northern 
region.'* 

Steamer  Corzvitiy 

Of  Point  Barrow^  Alaska^ 

August  17,  188 1, 

The  Corwin  made  a  very  short  stay  at  Wrangell 
Land,  partly  because  of  the  condition  of  the  ice, 
which  threatened  to  shut  us  in;  and  partly  because 
it  seemed  improbable  that  a  prolonged  search  in  the 
region  about  our  landing-point  could  in  any  way 
advance  the  main  objects  of  the  expedition.  A  con- 
siderable stretch  of  the  bluff  coast  where  we  landed 
was  scanned  closely  as  we  approached.  Captain 
Hooper,  Mr.  Nelson,  and  myself  examined  a  mile 
or  two  of  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  a  gently  sloping 
hillside  back  from  the  river,  and  a  stretch  of  smooth 

[  173  1 


ne  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

beach  at  its  mouth.  Meanwhile  a  party  of  officers, 
after  erecting  a  cairn,  depositing  records  in  it,  and 
setting  the  flag  on  the  edge  of  the  bluff  fronting 
the  ocean,  went  northeastward  along  the  brow  of 
the  shore-bluff  to  a  prominent  headland  a  distance 
of  three  or  four  miles,  searching  carefully  for  traces 
of  the  Jeannette  explorers,  and  of  any  native  inhab- 
itants that  might  chance  to  be  in  the  country;  then 
all  were  hurriedly  recalled,  and  we  forced  our  way 
back  through  ten  miles  of  heavy  drifting  ice  to  open 
water. 

On  the  shore  we  found  the  skeleton  of  a  large 
bowhead  whale,  an  oak  barrel  stave,  a  piece  of  a 
boat  mast  about  seven  feet  long  and  four  inches  in 
diameter,  a  double  kayak  paddle  with  both  blades 
broken,  and  a  small  quantity  of  driftwood.  Every 
bit  of  flotsam  was  much  scoured  and  abraded, 
showing  that  the  articles  had  long  been  exposed  to 
the  action  of  waves  and  ice. 

Back  on  the  hills  and  along  the  river-bank  the 
tracks  of  geese,  marmots,  foxes,  and  bears  were 
seen,  but  no  trace  whatever  of  human  beings, 
though  the  mouth  of  a  river  would  above  all  others 
be  the  place  to  find  them  if  the  country  were  inhab- 
ited or  had  been  visited  by  Europeans  within  a 
decade  or  two.  Not  a  stick  of  the  driftwood  seemed 
to  have  been  turned  over  or  stirred  in  any  way, 
though,  from  the  steepness  of  the  slate  bluffs  for 
miles  along  the  coast,  and  the  heavy  snowbanks 

[  174  J 


T^he  Land  of  the  White  Bear 

drifted  over  them,  this  low,  open  portion  of  the 
shore  is  about  the  only  place  in  the  neighborhood 
where  driftwood  could  come  to  rest  on  a  beach  and 
be  easily  accessible  to  natives  or  others  while 
traveling  along  the  coast  either  on  the  ice  or  on 
land,  and  where  they  would  also  find  a  good  camp- 
ground and  water. 

A  few  yards  back  from  high-water  mark  there  is 
a  low  pile  of  broken  slate,  with  level  ground  about 
it,  where  any  traveler  passing  this  way  would  natu- 
rally choose  to  camp.  But  the  surface  of  the  slate 
is  covered  with  gray,  brown,  and  yellow  rock- 
lichens  of  slow  growth,  showing  that  not  one  of 
these  stones  had  been  moved  for  many  a  year. 
Again,  neither  the  low  nor  the  high  ground  in  this 
vicinity  is  at  all  mantled  with  spongy  tundra 
mosses  and  lichens  like  most  of  the  Arctic  shores 
over  which  a  man  might  walk  without  leaving  a 
footprint.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  mostly  bare,  pre- 
senting a  soft  clay  soil,  derived  from  the  disintegra- 
tion of  slates,  the  scanty  dwarf  vegetation  —  saxi- 
frages, drabas,  potentillas,  carices,  etc.  —  occur- 
ring in  small  tufts  at  intervals  of  a  yard  or  so,  with 
bare  ground  between  them,  smooth  and  mellow  and 
plastic,  with  gentle  drainage,  admirably  adapted 
for  the  reception  and  preservation  of  footprints. 
Had  any  person  walked  on  this  ground  any  time 
in  summer  when  the  snow  was  gone,  and  where 
the  drainage  slopes  are  not  too  steep,  his  track 

[  I7S  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

would  remain  legible  to  the  dullest  observer  for 
years. 

We  concluded,  therefore,  that  this  part  of  the 
country  is  not  inhabited.  Nor  should  the  absence 
of  inhabitants  be  wondered  at,  notwithstanding 
they  might  be  derived  from  the  Siberian  coast  at 
long  intervals  in  accordance  with  the  traditions 
bearing  on  the  question  among  the  Chukchis,  or 
even  from  the  coast  of  Alaska  about  Point  Barrow 
or  Cape  Lisburne.  For,  though  small  parties  of 
Eskimos  or  Chukchis  might  reach  the  land  on  floes 
detached  from  the  pack  while  they  chanced  to  be 
out  hunting  seals,  or  in  boats  driven  by  storm- 
winds  or  otherwise,  such  parties  would  probably 
seek  to  get  back  to  their  old  homes  again,  or  would 
die  of  famine.  The  seal  and  walrus,  the  two  ani- 
mals on  which  the  natives  of  the  Arctic  shores 
chiefly  depend  for  subsistence,  are  not  to  any  great 
extent  available,  inasmuch  as  the  ice  seldom  or 
never  leaves  the  south  Wrangell  shores,  and  jour- 
neys twenty  or  thirty  miles  long  would  have  to  be 
made  over  rough  ice  to  reach  them. 

Reindeer  and  musk  oxen  may  exist  in  some  other 
portions  of  the  country,  but  if  they  occur  in  such 
numbers  as  would  be  required  for  the  support  of 
any  considerable  population  the  tracks  of  at  least 
some  few  stragglers  should  have  been  seen  here- 
abouts. Migratory  water  birds  are  no  doubt  abun- 
dant during  the  breeding  and  moulting  season, 

[  176  ] 


T^he  Land  of  the  JVhite  Bear 

producing  sufficient  food  to  last  through  a  few  of 
the  summer  months,  and  there  are  plenty  of  white 
bears,  huge  animals  weighing  from  ten  to  twenty- 
hundred  pounds.  Most  of  them,  however,  roam  far 
out  from  land  on  the  rugged  edge  of  the  ice-pack 
among  the  seals  and  walruses,  and  even  under  the 
most  advantageous  circumstances  polar  bears  are 
poor  cattle  to  depend  on  for  a  living.  They  cer- 
tainly do  not  seem  to  have  been  fed  upon  lately  to 
any  marked  extent,  for  we  found  them  everywhere 
in  abundance  along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  they 
appeared  to  be  very  fat  and  prosperous,  and  very 
much  at  home,  as  if  the  country  had  belonged  to 
them  always.  They  are  the  unrivaled  master- 
existences  of  this  ice-bound  solitude,  and  Wrangell 
Land  may  well  be  called  the  Land  of  the  White 
Bear. 

Commander  De  Long,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
written  at  sea,  August  17,  1879,  said  that  he  pro- 
posed to  proceed  north  by  the  way  of  the  east  coast 
of  Wrangell  Land,  touching  at  Herald  Island,  where 
he  would  build  a  cairn  and  leave  records;  that  if  he 
reached  Wrangell  Land  from  there  he  would  leave 
records  on  the  east  coast  under  a  series  of  cairns 
twenty-five  miles  apart.  In  a  previous  letter,  dated 
July  17,  1879,  he  said:  — 

In  the  event  of  disaster  to  the  ship,  we  shall  retreat 
upon  the  Siberian  settlements,  or  to  those  of  the 
natives  around  East  Cape,  and  wait  for  a  chance  to 

[  177  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

get  back  to  our  depot  at  St.  Michael.  If  a  ship  comes 
up  merely  for  tidings  of  us,  let  her  look  for  them  on 
the  east  side  of  Wrangell  Land  and  on  Herald  Island. 
If  I  find  that  we  are  being  carried  east  against  our 
efforts  to  get  north,  I  shall  try  to  push  through  into 
the  Atlantic  by  way  of  the  east  coast  of  Greenland, 
if  we  are  far  enough  north;  and  if  we  are  far  south, 
then  by  way  of  Melville  Bay  and  Lancaster  Sound. 

While  evidently  pursuing  this  plan,  he  was  seen 
by  the  whaler  Sea  Breeze  on  the  second  of  Septem- 
ber, 1879,  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Herald  Island, 
entering  a  lead  in  heavy  ice,  which  probably  closed 
in  upon  his  vessel  and  carried  him  past  Herald 
Island.  The  search  we  made  over  Herald  Island 
shows  pretty  clearly  that  he  did  not  succeed  in 
landing  there,  for  if  a  cairn  had  been  built  on  any 
conspicuous  point  we  could  not  have  failed  to  see  it, 
as  we  traveled  over  it  all  in  good  bright  weather. 
Nor  would  the  failure  of  this  part  of  his  plan  be  un- 
likely when  it  is  considered  that  he  was  fifty  miles 
from  the  island  so  late  in  the  season  as  September, 
and  when  heavy  ice  a  hundred  feet  thick  was 
already  about  him,  and  packed  around  the  island. 
Neither  does  it  seem  at  all  probable  from  what  we 
have  seen  this  summer  that  he  could  have  been  suc- 
cessful in  reaching  Wrangell  Land  so  late  in  the 
season  under  so  many  adverse  circumstances  of 
weather  and  ice.  That  he  did  not  build  a  cairn  or 
leave  any  trace  of  his  presence  within  a  few  miles 
of  our  landing  point  does  not  prove  by  any  means 

[  178] 


"The  Land  of  the  IVhite  Bear 

that  he  did  not  reach  Wrangell  Land  at  all,  or  that 
cairns  with  records  may  not  exist  elsewhere  to  the 
northward  or  westward.  But  the  point  where  we 
landed  being  the  easternmost  point  of  the  lower 
portion  of  Wrangell  Land,  it  would  seem  from  his 
plans  as  well  as  from  known  conditions  of  the  ice 
to  be  of  all  others  the  likeliest  place  to  find  traces 
of  the  expedition. 

In  the  case  of  the  loss  of  his  vessel  and  his  reach- 
ing the  land  farther  up  the  coast,  he  would  be  likely, 
in  following  his  plan  of  retreat,  to  travel  southward 
past  this  east  point  where  the  ice  is  more  broken 
and  extends  a  shorter  distance  offshore  than  else- 
where—  conditions  that  seem  applicable  to  the 
last  two  years  at  least,  judging  by  what  we  have 
observed.  Even  should  he  not  have  built  a  cairn  on 
so  prominent  and  comparatively  accessible  a  point, 
likely  to  be  discovered  by  relief  vessels,  he  could 
hardly  have  been  able  to  pass  without  leaving  some 
sign  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  whether  he  made 
efforts  to  mark  his  presence  or  not.  In  case  the 
explorers  passed  their  first  winter  on  Wrangell 
Land,  they  might  either  try  to  cross  over  the  ice  to 
Siberia  toward  spring  from  some  point  to  the  west- 
ward of  our  landing,  or  in  case  they  reached  the 
easternmost  cape,  near  the  south  extreme  of  the 
land,  about  midsummer,  they  would  probably  find 
it  the  most  favorable  point  of  departure  in  making 
their  way  to  the  Siberian  coast  with  sleds  over  the 

[  179  ] 


I'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

shore  pack,  and  thence  in  boats.  But  as  no  trace 
of  the  explorers  appears  here,  and  no  tidings  have 
been  obtained  concerning  them  from  the  Chukchis, 
this,  with  all  the  evidence  discovered  thus  far,  goes 
to  show  that  the  Jeannette  expedition  either  did 
not  reach  Wrangell  Land  at  all,  or  did  not  make 
any  extended  stay  upon  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  improbability  of  finding 
the  expedition,  the  Corwin  would  gladly  have  been 
fast  to  a  stranded  berg,  for  a  few  days  at  least, 
during  the  fine  August  weather  we  were  enjoying 
at  the  time,  in  order  to  send  out  exploring  and 
search  parties  along  the  coast  fifty  or  sixty  miles  in 
opposite  directions,  and  back  into  the  mountains, 
to  learn  something  about  the  topography,  geology, 
and  natural  history  of  the  country,  and  to  deter- 
mine as  surely  as  possible  whether  the  missing 
explorers  had  touched  this  portion  of  the  coast. 
But  in  so  doing  we  should  have  risked  being  shut 
in,  losing  the  vessel,  and  thus  making  still  another 
party  to  be  searched  for.  Besides,  we  might  then 
be  prevented  from  making  other  landings  farther 
north  in  case  the  ice  should  leave  the  shores  in  that 
direction,  and  from  extending  relief  to  other  vessels 
that  might  stand  in  need  of  it  among  the  ice  of  this 
dangerous  sea. 

The  floe  outside  of  our  anchorage  was  drifting 
along  shore  to  the  northeast  with  a  powerful  cur- 
rent at  a  speed  of  fifty  miles  a  day,  the  majestic 

I  i8o] 


"The  Land  of  the  White  Bear 

movement  being  made  strikingly  manifest  by  large 
bergs  that  were  aground  in  water  sixty  feet  deep, 
standing  like  islands,  while  the  main  mass  of  the 
pack  went  grating  past  them.  With  so  much  mo- 
tion in  the  ice,  the  open  lane  and  the  strip  of  loose 
blocks  and  cakes  through  which  we  had  forced  our 
way  in  coming  in  was  liable  to  close  at  any  time, 
making  escape  impossible,  at  least  until  some  chance 
change  in  the  winds  and  currents  might  result  in 
setting  us  free. 

As  it  was,  we  escaped  with  difficulty  after  both 
engine  and  hull  had  been  severely  tested,  the  lane 
by  which  we  entered  having  almost  vanished,  and 
the  point  where  we  reached  open  water  was  several 
miles  to  the  northward  of  our  ingoing  track.  Had 
our  retreat  been  cut  off,  we  would  not,  perhaps, 
have  suifered  greatly  for  a  year  or  thereabouts, 
inasmuch  as  we  had  nine  months'  provisions 
aboard,  which,  with  what  game  we  might  chance  to 
kill  in  the  nature  of  seals,  bears,  and  walruses,  could 
easily  have  been  made  to  last  considerably  longer. 
We  also  had  plenty  of  reindeer  clothing  and  pologs, 
bought  with  a  view  to  spending  a  winter  in  the 
Arctic,  in  case  it  should  be  necessary  to  do  so. 
Everything  could  have  been  landed  under  favor- 
able auspices,  and  preparations  could  have  been 
made  in  the  way  of  building  shelters  and  store- 
houses. Then  we  would  have  had  a  fine  long  op- 
portunity to  explore  this  grand  wilderness  in  its 

[  i8i  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

untouched  freshness  during  the  remaining  months 
of  summer  and  all  the  winter,  while  the  vessel 
might  possibly  have  escaped  being  smashed  if  laid 
up  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  by  a  hairbreadth 
chance  have  been  gotten  out  next  summer. 

Perhaps  the  ice  does  not  leave  the  shore  free 
more  than  once  in  ten  years.  The  small  quantity 
of  driftwood  on  the  beach  would  seem  to  indicate 
open  water  at  times,  but  it  might  have  been  brought 
in  by  shifting,  tumbling  ice,  after  being  held  fast 
and  gradually  worked  inshore  after  years  of  change 
in  its  position  among  the  shifting  floes,  without  the 
occurrence  of  any  perfectly  free  channel  of  com- 
munication with  the  open  part  of  the  ocean.  Our 
plan  of  retreat  would  have  been  similar  to  that  pro- 
posed by  Commander  De  Long,  that  is,  to  the  coast 
of  Siberia.  The  loss  of  the  vessel,  however,  and  any 
work  and  hardship  that  might  follow  would  not 
have  been  allowed  to  weigh  against  any  reasonable 
hope  of  finding  the  lost  explorers  and  carrying  relief 
to  them.  But  it  was  decided  that  more  could  be 
done,  in  all  probability,  towards  carrying  out  the 
objects  of  the  expedition  by  keeping  the  Corwin 
free.  Only  about  half  of  the  workdays  of  the  sum- 
mer were  spent  as  yet,  the  weather  was  mild,  the 
ice  melting,  and  we  had  good  hopes  of  finding  open 
water  reaching  well  inshore  farther  north,  through 
which  some  other  portion  of  the  coast  might  be 
found  accessible  where  the  danger  of  being  perma- 

[  182  ] 


-iKT 


"The  Land  of  the  TVhite  Bear 

nently  beset  would  be  less,  and  from  whence  ex- 
tended land  journeys  might  be  made.  Our  efforts, 
however,  to  get  northward  along  the  eastern  shore 
of  Wrangell  Land  have,  thus  far,  been  unavailing. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Off  Point  Barrow,  August  i8y  1881. 

FINDING  It  impossible  to  get  northward 
through  the  ice  anywhere  near  the  east  side 
of  Wrangell  Land,  it  was  decided  that  we  should 
cross  to  the  American  coast  to  make  another  effort 
to  reach  Point  Barrow  in  order  to  learn  the  fate  of 
the  whale-ship  Daniel  Webster,  which,  as  I  have 
stated  in  a  former  letter,  was  beset  in  the  ice  there, 
and  to  offer  assistance  in  case  it  should  be  required. 

On  the  fifteenth,  near  Icy  Cape,  we  spoke  one  of 
the  whalers  from  whom  we  learned  that  the  Daniel 
Webster  was  crushed  and  sunk,  that  about  half 
the  crew  had  made  their  way  down  the  coast  to 
near  Icy  Cape,  where  they  found  the  Coral  and 
were  taken  on  board,  and  that  the  others  were  still 
at  Point  Barrow  or  scattered  along  the  shore,  un- 
less picked  up  by  some  of  the  fleet  that  were  going 
north  in  search  of  them  as  fast  as  the  state  of  the 
ice  would  allow. 

Captain  Owen  of  the  bark  Belvedere  had  sent  a 
letter  to  them  by  one  of  the  natives,  directing  them 
to  build  large  driftwood  fires  on  the  beach  to  indi- 
cate their  positions,  and  assuring  them  that  relief 
was  near.  We  had  hoped  that,  though  beset  in  the 

[  184  ] 


"Tragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

heavy,  drifting  pack  and  carried  northward  help- 
less and  rigid  as  a  fly  in  amber,  some  change  in  the 
wind  and  current  might  set  them  free.  But  in  dis- 
cussing the  question  with  an  experienced  whaler 
who  had  lost  the  first  ship  that  he  was  master  of 
at  the  same  place  and  in  the  same  way,  he  said 
that  he  had  given  her  up  for  lost  as  soon  as  she 
was  known  to  be  embayed. 

On  receiving  this  news  we  started  for  Point 
Barrow  and  found  the  way  clear,  the  pack  having 
been  blown  ofi'shore  a  few  miles,  and  a  heavy  cur- 
rent was  sweeping  to  the  northward.  Tuesday,  the 
sixteenth,  was  calm  and  foggy  at  times;  large 
masses  of  beautiful  ice,  blue  and  green  and  white, 
of  every  conceivable  form,  like  the  bergs  derived 
from  glaciers,  were  drifting  with  the  riverlike  cur- 
rent or  lying  aground  —  the  remnants  of  the  grand 
pack  that  so  lately  held  possession  of  all  the  sea 
hereabouts. 

When  we  were  passing  Point  Belcher  and  Sunar- 
nara  ^  we  learned  from  the  natives  that  the  ice  was 
ofi'shore  as  far  as  Point  Barrow  and  beyond,  that 
several  whale-ships  were  already  there,  and  that  all 
the  men  from  the  broken  ship  had  been  taken  on 
board.  For  some  time  the  fog  was  so  dense  and  the 
huge  bergs  so  abundant  we  were  compelled  to  lie 
to  and  drift  with  the  current;  but  shortly  after  noon 
the  sun  came  out,  making  a  dazzling  show  among 

^  Sinaru? 

I  i8S] 


l^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  Ice  and  silvery  water.  Then  the  conical  huts  of 
the  Eskimo  village  on  Point  Barrow  came  in  sight, 
and  rounding  the  Point  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
midst  of  quite  a  fleet  of  whalers,  from  whom  we 
received  the  good  news  that,  as  we  had  been  told 
by  the  natives,  all  the  missing  members  of  the 
wrecked  crew  had  at  length  been  picked  up  and 
were  now  distributed  among  the  different  vessels. 
A  few  of  them  have  been  permanently  added  to  the 
crews  of  the  rescuing  ships  lying  here,  and  nine 
have  been  received  on  board  of  the  Corwin. 

The  strip  of  water  sometimes  found  between  Icy 
Cape  and  Point  Barrow  is  perhaps  the  most  dan- 
gerous whaling  ground  yet  discovered.  The  ice  is 
of  tremendous  thickness,  a  hundred  feet  or  more, 
and  its  movements  are  extremely  variable  from 
season  to  season,  and  almost  from  day  to  day.  It 
seldom  leaves  this  part  of  the  coast  very  far,  some 
years  not  at  all,  and  it  is  always  liable  to  be  driven 
close  inshore  by  a  few  hours  or  days  of  strong  wind 
blowing  from  any  point  of  the  compass  around  from 
north  to  southwest.  When,  as  frequently  happens, 
there  Is  a  margin  of  fixed  ice  along  the  shore  the 
position  of  ships  Is  most  dangerous,  for  when  the 
pack  comes  In  and  catches  vessels  In  this  ice-bound 
lane  while  trying  to  beat  southward  against  wind 
and  current,  It  closes  upon  them  and  crushes  them 
as  between  huge  crunching  jaws.  Should  there  be  no 
fixed  ice,  then  vessels  may  simply  be  shoved  ashore. 

[  186] 


"Tragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

It  IS  not  long  since  the  first  whale-ship  passed 
Bering  Strait,  and  yet  no  less  than  forty-seven 
have  been  crushed  hereabouts,  or  pushed  ashore, 
or  embayed  and  swept  away  northward  to  nobody 
knows  where,  while  many  others  have  had  narrow 
escapes. 

Thirty-three  were  caught  and  lost  in  this  way 
here  at  one  time,  thirteen  the  following  season, 
and  one  last  July,  while  two  others  barely  made 
their  escape  the  same  day  just  as  the  fatal  ice- 
jaws  closed  behind  them.  This  last  victim,  the 
Daniel  Webster,  left  New  Bedford  in  November, 
1880,  passed  through  Bering  Strait  on  the  tenth 
of  June,  and  was  caught  in  the  pack  July  3. 
It  seems  from  the  account  furnished  us  by  the 
first  mate  that  she  was  following  up  a  lead  of 
open  water  about  five  miles  wide,  between  the 
main  ocean  pack  and  a  strip  of  shore-ice,  fancy- 
ing that  two  other  ships  that  she  had  been  fol- 
lowing the  day  previous  were  still  ahead,  and 
on  whose  movements  the  Captain,  who  had  no 
experience  here,  this  being  his  first  voyage,  was 
to  some  extent  depending.  These  two  leaders, 
however,  had  turned  and  fled  during  the  night 
without  being  observed,  while  the  Daniel  Webster 
kept  on  northward,  until  within  sight  of  the  end  of 
the  water-lane,  when  she  turned  and  attempted  to 
beat  her  way  back.  But  wind  and  current  were 
against  her,  the  huge  ice-walls  came  steadily  nearer, 

[  187] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

and  at  length  closed  on  the  doomed  vessel,  carrying 
her  away  as  if  she  were  a  mere  bit  of  drift  timber. 
About  an  hour  later  she  was  crushed,  and  sank  to 
her  upper  deck  in  about  twenty  minutes.  Then  she 
fell  over  on  her  beam-ends  against  the  ice  and  soon 
vanished  in  the  icy  wilderness. 

The  Point  Barrow  Eskimos,  keenly  familiar  with 
the  actions  of  the  winds  and  currents  on  the  move- 
ments of  the  ice,  watched  the  struggling  ship,  and 
came  aboard  before  the  ice  had  yet  closed  upon  her, 
like  wolves  scenting  their  prey  from  afar.  Many  a 
wreck  had  they  enjoyed  here,  and  now,  sure  of  yet 
another,  they  ran  about  the  ship  examining  every 
movable  article,  and  narrowly  scanning  the  rigging 
and  sails  with  reference  to  carrying  away  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  best  of  everything,  such  as  the 
sails,  lead  pipe  for  bullets,  hard  bread,  sugar, 
tobacco,  etc.,  in  case  they  should  have  but  a  short 
time  to  work. 

She  filled  so  quickly  after  being  crushed  that  the 
crew  saved  but  little  more  than  the  clothes  they 
were  wearing.  Some  hard  bread,  beef  and  other 
stores  were  hastily  thrown  over  upon  the  ice,  and 
one  boat  was  secured.  As  soon  as  she  was  given  up, 
the  Eskimos  climbed  into  the  rigging,  and  dexter- 
ously cut  away  and  secured  all  the  sails,  which  they 
value  highly  for  making  sails  for  their  large  travel- 
ing canoes  and  for  covers  for  their  summer  huts. 
Then  they  secured  as  much  lead  as  possible  and 

[  i88  ] 


T^ragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

anything  they  could  lay  hands  on,  acting  promptly 
and  showing  the  completeness  of  the  apprentice- 
ship they  had  served. 

The  ship  was  then  about  five  miles  from  the 
Eskimo  village,  and  the  natives  were  allowed  to 
assist  in  carrying  everything  that  had  been  saved. 
Under  the  circumstances,  in  getting  over  the  five 
miles  of  ice  with  such  riches,  they,  like  white  men, 
reasoned  themselves  into  the  belief  that  everything 
belonged  to  them,  even  the  chronometers  and  sex- 
tants. Accordingly,  at  the  village  a  general  divi- 
sion was  made  in  so  masterly  a  manner  that  by  the 
time  the  officers  and  crew  reached  the  place  their 
goods  had  vanished  into  a  hundred-odd  dens  and 
holes;  and  when,  hungry,  they  asked  for  some  of 
their  own  biscuits,  the  natives  complacently  offered 
to  sell  them  at  the  rate  of  so  much  tobacco  apiece. 
Even  the  chronometers  had  been  divided,  it  is  said, 
after  being  taken  apart,  the  wheels  and  bits  of 
shining  metal  being  regarded  as  fine  jewelry  for 
the  young  women  and  children  to  wear.  A  keg  of 
rum,  that  the  officers  feared  might  fall  into  the 
Eskimos'  hands  and  cause  trouble  by  making  them 
drunk,  was  thrown  heavily  over  on  the  ice  with  the 
intention  of  smashing  it,  but  it  was  not  broken  by 
the  fall.  One  of  the  Eskimos  picked  up  the  prize, 
to  him  more  precious  than  its  weight  in  gold,  and 
sped  away  over  the  slippery  crags  and  hollows  of 
the  ice  with  admirable  speed,  vainly  pursued  by 

[  189  1 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

the  first  mate,  and  at  the  village  It  disappeared  as 
far  beyond  recovery  as  if  it  had  been  poured  into  a 
hot  sand  bank.  As  wreckers,  traders,  and  drinkers 
these  sturdy  Eskimos  are  making  rapid  progress, 
notwithstanding  the  fortunate  disadvantages  they 
labor  under,  as  compared  with  their  white  brethren, 
dwelling  in  so  severe  a  climate  on  the  confines  of  the 
frozen  sea. 

The  entire  crew  numbered  twenty-eight  men. 
All  except  the  second  mate  and  two  of  the  sailors 
started  down  the  coast  afoot,  after  waiting  some 
time  for  the  ice  to  drift  ofi'shore  far  enough  to  allow 
some  of  the  other  ships  to  come  to  their  relief,  or 
at  least  far  enough  to  leave  a  passage  for  their  boat. 
At  the  river  Cogrua  ^  ten  of  the  party  turned  back, 
weary  and  hungry  and  discouraged,  to  Cape  Smyth, 
to  pick  up  a  living  of  oil  and  seal  meat  until  relieved, 
rather  than  face  the  danger  of  fording  the  river  and 
enduring  yet  greater  hardships.  The  others  pushed 
forward.  Directed  by  one  of  the  natives,  they  went 
up  the  bank  of  the  river  about  twenty  miles  from 
its  mouth,  to  where  it  is  much  narrower.  Here  they 
forded  without  danger,  carrying  their  clothes  on 
their  heads  to  keep  them  dry. 

Both  parties  seem  to  have  suffered  considerably 
from  hunger  as  well  as  from  cold  and  fatigue.  The 

*  Kugnia,  a  river  tributary  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  at  the  Seahorse 
Islands,  a  little  east  of  Pt.  Belcher.  According  to  John  Murdoch, 
Kug'ru  is  the  Eskimo  name  of  the  Whistling  Swan. 

•       [   190  ] 


Tragedies  of  the  JVhaling  Fleet 

seal  and  oil  meals,  which  the  natives  of  the  differ- 
ent villages  they  passed  good-naturedly  allowed 
them  to  share,  but  ill-supplied  the  place  of  their 
old-fashioned,  rough  and  regular  rations.  They 
speak  of  having  been  reduced  to  the  strait  of  eating 
roots  and  leaves  of  the  few  dwarf  plants  found 
along  their  way.  At  Point  Belcher  they  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  find  a  traveling  party  of  natives, 
who,  after  their  shaman  had  duly  consulted  the 
spirits,  supposed  to  be  influential  and  wise  con- 
cerning the  affairs  of  this  rough  region,  and  reported 
favorably,  agreed  to  take  the  party  in  their  canoe 
southward  to  seek  the  whaling  fleet,  the  pack  hav- 
ing by  this  time  commenced  to  leave  the  shore.  By 
this  means  the  wanderers  reached  the  bark  Coral 
in  four  days,  at  a  cost  of  two  rifles  and  some 
tobacco. 

The  others  were  kindly  received  by  the  Cape 
Smyth  people  and  entertained  until  the  ice  left  the 
shore.  One  of  the  three  left  at  Point  Barrow,  it 
seems,  wandered  southward  alone  and  lost  himself 
with  fright  and  hunger.  He  was  without  food  for 
five  days,  save  what  he  could  pick  up  from  the 
sparse  sedgy  vegetation,  and  was  nearly  dead  when 
discovered  by  a  relief  party  from  one  of  the  ships. 
The  natives,  he  said,  refused  to  allow  him  to  enter 
their  huts,  because  his  eyes  were  wild  and  he  would 
soon  be  crazy.   Fortunately,  all  are  now  cared  for. 

Newly  discovered  whaling  grounds,  like  gold 

[  191  ] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

mines,  are  soon  overcrowded  and  worked  out,  the 
whales  being  either  killed  or  driven  away.  But 
whales  worth  four  or  five  thousand  dollars  apiece 
are  so  intensely  attractive  and  interesting  that  the 
grand  game  has  been  hunted  in  the  face  of  a  thou- 
sand dangers  over  nearly  all  the  seas  and  oceans  on 
the  face  of  the  globe.  According  to  Alexander  Star- 
buck,  in  his  history  of  the  American  whale  fishery, 
there  belonged,  in  the  year  1846,  to  the  various 
ports  of  the  United  States  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  ships  and  barks,  thirty-five  brigs,  and  twenty- 
two  schooners  that  were  hunting  whales.  In  1843 
the  first  bowhead  whales  taken  in  the  North  Pacific 
were  captured  on  the  coast  of  Kamchatka,  and  in 
1848  the  first  whale-ship  passed  Bering  Strait.  This 
was  the  bark  Superior,  Captain  Royce.  A  full  cargo 
was  easily  obtained,  because  of  the  abundance  and 
tameness  of  the  whales. 

The  news,  like  a  gold  discovery,  spread  rapidly, 
and  within  the  next  three  years  two  hundred  and 
fifty  ships  had  obtained  cargoes  of  oil  and  bone 
here.  This  is,  therefore,  a  comparatively  new 
hunting  ground.  Nevertheless  it  is  being  rapidly 
exhausted.  The  precious  bowheads  are  no  longer 
seen  in  "long  winrows,"  as  described  by  an  old 
whaleman  familiar  with  the  region.  This  year  only 
twenty  vessels  are  engaged  in  the  business. 

In  1 87 1  thirty-three  vessels  were  caught  in  one 
flock  off  Point  Belcher  and  crushed  or  shoved 

[  192  1 


"Tragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

ashore.  One  of  them  is  said  to  have  been  "crushed 
to  atoms,"  the  officers  and  crew  escaping  over  the 
ice,  saving  scarcely  anything  but  their  lives.  In  a 
few  days  after  the  sixth  of  August  most  of  the  fleet 
was  north  of  Blossom  Shoals,  and  worked  to  the 
northeast  as  far  as  Wainwright  Inlet.  Here  the 
ships  either  anchored  or  made  fast  to  the  ice,  which 
was  very  heavy  and  densely  packed.  On  the  elev- 
enth of  August  a  sudden  change  of  wind  drove  the 
ice  inshore,  catching  a  large  number  of  boats  that 
were  out  in  pursuit  of  whales,  and  forcing  the  ships 
to  work  inshore  in  the  lee  of  the  ground  ice. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  August  the  incoming  pack 
grounded,  leaving  only  a  narrow  strip  of  water,  in 
which  the  fleet  was  imprisoned  more  and  more 
narrowly  until  the  twenty-fifth,  when  a  strong 
northeast  gale  drove  the  ice  a  few  miles  off'shore, 
and  whale-catching  went  on  briskly  without  fear 
of  another  imprisonment.  But  on  the  twenty-ninth 
a  southwest  wind  again  drove  the  ice  inshore,  and 
once  more  shut-in  the  doomed  fleet.  The  thirty- 
three  vessels  were  scattered  along  the  coast  for 
twenty  miles,  more  and  more  rigidly  beset  until 
the  fourteenth  of  September,  when  they  were  aban- 
doned —  that  is,  those  not  already  crushed. 

The  following  protest,  throwing  a  vivid  light 
upon  the  subject,  was  written  on  the  twelfth  of 
September,  and  signed  by  all  the  captains  before 
abandoning  their  vessels:  — 

[  193  ] 


'The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

Point  Belcher,  Arctic  Ocean, 
September  12,  1871, 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  we,  the 
undersigned,  masters  of  whale-ships  now  lying  at 
Point  Belcher,  after  holding  a  meeting  concerning  our 
dreadful  situation,  have  all  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  our  ships  cannot  be  got  out  this  year,  and  there 
being  no  harbors  that  we  can  get  our  vessels  into,  and 
not  having  provisions  enough  to  feed  our  crews  to 
exceed  three  months,  and  being  in  a  barren  country, 
where  there  is  neither  food  nor  fuel  to  be  obtained, 
we  feel  ourselves  under  the  painful  necessity  of  aban- 
doning our  vessels,  and  trying  to  work  our  way  south 
with  our  boats,  and,  if  possible,  get  on  board  of  ships 
that  are  south  of  the  ice.  We  do  not  think  it  would 
be  prudent  to  leave  a  single  soul  to  look  after  our  ves- 
sels, as  the  first  westerly  gale  will  crowd  the  ice  ashore, 
and  either  crush  the  ships  or  drive  them  high  upon 
the  beach.  Three  of  the  fleet  have  already  been 
crushed,  and  two  are  now  lying  hove  out,  which  have 
been  crushed  by  the  ice  and  are  leaking  badly.  We 
have  now  five  wrecked  crews  distributed  among  us, 
we  have  barely  room  to  swing  at  anchor  between  the 
ice-pack  and  the  beach,  and  we  are  lying  in  three 
fathoms  of  water.  Should  we  be  cast  on  the  beach  it 
would  be  at  least  eleven  months  before  we  could  look 
for  assistance,  and  in  all  probability  nine  out  of  ten 
would  die  of  starvation  or  scurvy  before  the  opening 
of  spring. 

AH  the  officers  and  crews  —  twelve  hundred  and 
nineteen  souls  —  reached  the  seven  relief  vessels 
that  lay  waiting  their  arrival  outside  the  ice,  and 
were  distributed  among  them,  these  seven  being 

[  194  1 


tragedies  of  the  Whaling  Fleet 

the  remnant  of  the  fleet  that  passed  through  Bering 
Strait  in  the  spring.  The  next  summer  only  five  of 
the  thirty-three  were  seen,  one  of  them  compara- 
tively uninjured.  All  the  rest  had  been  smashed, 
sunk,  burned,  or  carried  away  in  the  pack. 

Five  years  later,  in  1876,  the  fleet  consisted  of 
twenty  ships  and  barks,  and  of  this  number  thir- 
teen were  embayed  in  the  pack,  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  ofi"  Point  Barrow.  After  waiting  and  hoping 
for  the  coming  of  a  liberating  gale  as  long  as  they 
dared,  the  masters  decided  that  it  was  necessary  to 
abandon  their  vessels.  Out  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty-three  persons,  fifty-three  remained  with  the 
ships,  hoping  to  get  them  free  in  the  spring;  but 
not  one  of  the  ships,  or  of  those  who  stayed  on 
them,  was  ever  seen  again.  The  three  hundred  who 
left  their  vessels,  after  enduring  great  hardships, 
succeeded  in  making  good  their  escape  to  the  rest 
of  the  fleet  waiting  outside  the  pack  —  all  save 
three  or  four  who  perished  by  the  way. 

There  are  now  twelve  whale-ships  about  Point 
Barrow  in  sight  from  the  Corwin,  and  all  that  would 
be  necessary  to  shut  them  in  is  a  gale  from  the 
southwest.  Still  the  great  love  of  action,  and  the 
great  love  of  money,  compel  the  risk  here  and  else- 
where over  and  over  again.  The  Corwin  is  now 
about  to  go  southward  to  coal,  at  the  mine  twenty 
miles  east  of  Cape  Lisburne;  or,  in  case  the  weather 
should  be  too  rough  to  land  at  the  mine,  which  is 

[  19s  1 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

on  a  bare,  exposed  portion  of  the  coast,  to  Plover 
Bay.  Then  we  will  return  to  the  Arctic  prepared 
to  make  other  efforts  to  get  on  the  south  and  east 
shores  of  Wrangell  Land, 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MEETING  THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  August  2$,  i88i, 

WE  left  Icy,  gloomy  Point  Barrow  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  eighteenth,  with  fine  Arctic 
weather,  which  held  out  good  hopes  that  we  would 
be  able  to  lie  two  days  at  the  mine  twenty  miles 
east  of  Cape  Lisburne,  in  order  to  take  out  and  get 
on  board  a  sufficient  quantity  of  coal  to  last  the 
Corwin  the  remainder  of  the  season  in  the  Arctic. 
But  by  the  time  we  got  down  the  coast  near  the 
mine  the  weather  was  rough,  with  a  heavy  sea  send- 
ing stormy  breakers  against  the  exposed  coal  blufiF, 
rendering  it  impossible  to  land  and  work.  And  as 
there  is  no  shelter  whatever  for  a  vessel  an)rwhere 
In  the  vicinity,  and  no  likelihood  from  any  indica- 
tions that  the  weather  would  improve.  It  was 
decided  that  we  should  proceed  at  once  to  Plover 
Bay,  our  next  nearest  coaling  point. 

This  Arctic  mine,  the  nearest  to  the  North  Pole, 
as  far  as  I  know,  of  any  yet  discovered  on  the 
American  continent,  produces  coal  of  excellent 
quality  In  great  abundance  and  easily  worked. 
There  are  five  principal  veins,  from  two  to  ten  feet 
thick,  fully  exposed  on  the  face  of  a  bluif  about  two 
hundred  feet  high,  excepting  some  of  the  lower 

[  197  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

sections  that  are  covered  with  icy  snowbanks.  The 
latter  are  derived  from  drift  that  comes  from  the 
wind-swept  hills,  and  does  not  melt  till  late  in  the 
summer,  or  not  at  all.  The  lower  exposed  portions 
of  all  the  veins  are  beaten  and  worn  by  the  sea 
waves.  There  can  scarcely  be  any  doubt,  from  what 
I  have  seen  of  the  formation  in  which  it  occurs,  that 
this  is  a  true  carboniferous  coal,  and  superior  to 
the  great  bulk  of  the  tertiary  and  cretaceous  coal 
found  on  this  side  the  continent  farther  south.  The 
Corwin  coaled  here  twice  last  summer,  and  again 
this  summer,  July  27  and  28.  So  also  did  the  steam 
whale-ship  Belvedere.  During  calm  weather  the 
crew  of  the  Corwin  can  dig  out  and  put  in  sacks, 
and  bring  off  in  boats,  about  thirty  tons  per  day. 
On  the  twenty-first  we  passed  through  Bering 
Strait  in  a  dense  fog  without  sighting  either  of  the 
Diomede  Islands,  which  even  in  weather  clear  else- 
where are  almost  constantly  enveloped  in  fog,  caus- 
ing no  little  anxiety  to  the  navigator,  inasmuch  as 
they  stand  directly  in  the  middle  of  the  narrow  part 
of  the  strait.  A  third  islet  called  Fairway  Rock, 
together  with  the  uncertain  flow  of  the  currents 
hereabouts,  renders  the  danger  all  the  greater. 
The  larger  Diomede  is  about  six  miles  long,  the 
other  half  as  large,  and  Fairway  Rock  still  smaller. 
All  three  are  simply  residual  masses  of  granite 
brought  into  relief  by  glacial  action  before  the 
strait  was  in  existence.  These  rocks  rise  above  the 

[  198  ] 


"The  Point  Barrow  Expedition 

general  level  because  of  their  superior  strength  con- 
sidered with  reference  to  the  resistance  they  offered 
to  glacial  degradation. 

Approaching  the  islands  in  thick  weather,  the 
first  intimation  the  navigator  has  of  his  being  near 
them,  and  of  the  direction  in  which  they  bear,  is 
either  from  the  winds  which  gurgle  and  reverberate 
in  passing  over  them,  or  from  the  birds  —  auks, 
murres  and  gulls  —  which  dwell  on  the  rocks  in 
myriads,  and  come  and  go  several  miles  into  the 
adjacent  waters  to  feed.  To  persons  acquainted 
with  their  habits  it  is  not  difficult  to  determine 
whether  their  flight  is  directed  homewards  or  away 
from  home.  Thus  the  natives  who  dwell  on  these 
gloomy,  dripping  rocks  and  visit  the  shores  of  the 
adjacent  continents  in  their  frail  skin-covered 
canoes,  are  directed.  But  how  the  birds  themselves 
find  their  way,  flying  in  arrowlike  courses  to  their 
nests,  when  every  direction  seems  to  us  the  same,  is 
truly  marvelous. 

On  cloudy  nights  it  is  dark  now  at  midnight.  The 
sun  sets  before  eight  o'clock,  but  because  it  sinks 
only  a  few  degrees  below  the  horizon,  the  twilight 
lasts  nearly  all  night.  In  a  week  or  two,  however, 
we  shall  have  seven  or  eight  hours  of  real  night, 
for,  of  course,  the  transition  from  constant  day  to 
day  and  night  is  very  rapid  in  these  high  latitudes. 
This  new  order  of  things  will  be  delightful.  A  few 
days  ago  we  saw  two  stars  in  the  twilight,  which  to 

I  199  ] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

us  was  an  exceedingly  Interesting  event  after  two 
months  of  starless  day.  The  glories  of  the  midnight 
sun  in  this  mysterious  polar  world  are  truly  en- 
chanting, but  not  nearly  so  much  so  as  the  glories 
of  the  midday  sun  in  lower  latitudes,  succeeded  by 
the  glories  of  the  night,  the  deep  sky  of  stars  and 
the  grateful  change  and  repose  they  bring. 

After  passing  through  the  Strait  we  had  two 
gray,  howling  days,  with  head  winds  and  rain,  and 
thick  fog,  through  which  the  Corwin  beat  her  way, 
or  was  held  lying  to,  heaving  and  rolling  somewhere 
between  St.  Lawrence  Island  and  Indian  Point,  as 
near  as  could  be  made  out  at  the  time  by  dead 
reckoning,  and  guessing  the  speed  of  the  northerly 
current.  Lying  to  in  a  gale,  enveloped  in  old  fogs,^ 
and  with  little  sea-room,  and  variable  currents,  is 
anything  but  pleasant,  to  say  nothing  of  the  te- 
dious discomforts  caused  by  the  movements  of  the 
vessel,  the  unceasing  see-saw,  creaking,  pitching 
and  complaining.  At  such  times  only  the  gulls, 
those  light-winged  rovers  of  the  sea,  appear  to  be 
patient  and  comfortable  as  they  gracefully  drift 
and  glide  over  the  wild-tossing  waves,  or  circle  on 
easy  wing  about  the  ship,  veering  deftly  from  side 
to  side,  and  wavering  up  and  down  through  the 
gray,  sleety  gloom. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth,  when  the 

*  Fogs  that  have  lasted  a  long  time  and  prevented  the  taking 
of  observations  for  the  position  of  the  ship. 

[   200   ] 


"The  Point  Barrow  Expedition 

fog  lifted,  we  found  ourselves  far  north  of  our  sup- 
posed position;  the  flow  of  the  current  to  the  north- 
ward during  the  two  preceding  days  having  been 
nearly  eighty  miles.  We  arrived  here  at  five  in  the 
afternoon. 

Entering  the  harbor,  we  discovered  the  schooner 
Golden  Fleece  lying  at  anchor,  and  shortly  after- 
ward a  party  from  her  came  aboard  the  Corwin, 
which  proved  to  be  Lieutenant  Ray  ^  and  his  com- 
pany of  Signal  Service  ofiicers  on  their  way  to 
establish  a  station  at  Point  Barrow  —  ten  persons 
in  all.2  Mr.  Ray  seems  to  be  the  right  man  for  the 
place.  He  hopes  to  be  able  to  get  his  buildings  up 
and  everything  put  in  order  before  the  coming  on 
of  winter,  making  a  home  In  that  stern  wilderness 
for  three  years. 

Point  Barrow  is  a  low,  barren  spit  putting  out 
into  the  icy  ocean,  and,  before  the  discovery  of 
Wrangell  Land,  the  northernmost  point  of  the 
territory  of  the  United  States.  For  many  years  it 
was  believed  to  be  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
American  continent.  But  the  extreme  point  of 
the  peninsula  of  Boothia  proves  to  be  a  few  miles 
farther  north  than  this.    At  first  sight  it  would 

1  P.  H.  Ray. 

2  This  was  the  International  Polar  Expedition  to  Point  Bar- 
row, Alaska.  The  report  of  the  valuable  series  of  scientific  obser- 
vations and  explorations  made  from  1881  to  1883  at  the  Point 
Barrow  Station  was  published  as  House  Executive  Document, 
No.  44,  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress.  Among  the  members  of 
the  party  were  John  Murdoch  and  Middleton  Smith. 

[   201    ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

seem  a  gloomy  time  to  look  forward  to  —  three 
years  in  so  remote  and  so  severely  desolate  and 
forbidding  a  region,  generally  regarded  as  the  top- 
most frost-killed  end  of  creation! 

But,  amid  all  the  disadvantages  of  position,  these 
men  have  much  in  their  lot  for  which  they  might 
well  be  envied  by  people  dwelling  in  softer  climates. 
There  is  the  freshness  of  their  field  of  research  in 
natural  history,  the  immense  number  of  summer 
birds  that  visit  this  region  to  molt  and  rear  their 
young;  the  fine  opportunities  they  will  have  to 
study  the  habits  of  the  reindeer  6n  the  tundras, 
and  the  magnificent  polar  bear  among  the  ice  — 
the  master  animal  of  the  north.  Then  there  is  the 
chance  to  study  the  little-known  western  Eskimos, 
who  have  a  village  ^  on  the  point,  numbering  about 
two  hundred  persons.^ 

Advantage,  too,  I  am  told,  will  be  taken  of  the 
opportunity  offered  to  explore  the  Colville  and 
Inland  Rivers,  both  of  them  large  streams,  the  one 
flowing  into  the  [Arctic]  Ocean  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty  miles  to  the  east  of  Point  Barrow,  the 
other  into  Bering  Sea  through  Hotham  Inlet  and 
Kotzebue  Sound.  They  are  almost  entirely  unex- 
plored.   Some  of  their  upper  branches  must  ap- 

^  Nuwuk. 

2  An  admirable  study  of  these  Eskimos  was,  indeed,  made  by 
John  Murdoch,  a  member  of  the  party,  and  published  in  House 
Executive  Document,  No.  44  (1885),  and  in  the  Ninth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (1892). 

[   202   J 


T^he  Point  Barrow  Expedition 

proach  each  other,  as  the  Eskimos  ascend  the  Col- 
viUe  and,  making  a  portage,  descend  the  Inland 
River  to  Hotham  Inlet  every  year  to  trade,  or  at 
the  portage  meet  natives  from  the  other  river  and 
trade  there.  The  exploration  of  these  rivers  is  a 
very  interesting  piece  of  work,  and  Mr.  Ray  tells 
me  that  he  intends  to  make  an  effort  to  accom- 
plish it  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  Furthermore, 
he  is  ambitious  to  achieve  something  in  the  way 
of  new  discoveries  out  in  the  Polar  Ocean  to  the 
northward  of  his  station. 

From  the  fact  that  a  current  sets  northward  past 
Herald  Island,  and  keeps  a  long  lane  reaching  far 
beyond  Herald  Island  open  every  summer,  while 
the  ice  remains  jammed  only  a  few  miles  off  Point 
Barrow  and  Cape  Yakan,  Siberia,  and  some  years 
does  not  leave  the  shores  at  all,  it  would  seem  that 
there  is  a  land  lying  to  the  east  of  Wrangell  Land, 
making  a  strait  up  which  the  northerly  current 
flows,  while  the  unknown  land  prevents  any  great 
movement  in  the  ice  immediately  to  the  north 
of  the  American  continent,  as  Wrangell  Land 
[stays]  the  ice  opposite  Cape  Yakan  and  the  coast 
in  its  vicinity.  Again,  migratory  birds  in  large 
flocks  have  been  seen  flying  north  from  Point  Bar- 
row in  the  spring,  and  returning  in  the  fall.  Besides, 
certain  vague  reports,  which  may  have  their  foun- 
dation in  fact,  have  been  in  circulation  to  the  effect 
that  land  in  this  direction  has  been  actually  seen 

[  203  1 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

by  a  whaler,  who  was  well  offshore  to  the  northeast- 
ward from  Point  Barrow,  in  an  exceptionally  open 
season. 

With  the  experience  that  he  will  gain  among  the 
ice  at  Point  Barrow,  and  the  resources  at  command 
in  the  way  of  good  assistants,  skilled  native  travel- 
ers, with  good  dogs  and  sleds,  etc.,  Mr.  Ray  may 
possibly  be  able  to  cross  over  the  ice  to  this  land, 
if  land  there  be.  In  any  case,  whatever  journeys 
may  be  made,  over  the  ice  or  over  the  land,  in 
summer  or  in  winter,  some  new  facts  will  surely  be 
gained  well  worth  the  pains,  for  no  portion  of  the 
world  is  so  barren  as  not  to  yield  a  rich  and  precious 
harvest  of  divine  truth. 

Nor  will  these  men  be  likely  to  suffer  greatly. 
The  winter  cold,  when  skillfully  met  in  soft  hair 
and  fur,  is  not  hard  to  bear,  while  in  summer  it  is 
so  warm  that  the  Eskimo  children  run  about  naked. 
The  piling  up  of  the  ice  on  the  shore  in  winter  and 
spring  must  make  a  magnificent  border  for  a  home; 
and  the  auroral  curtains  and  the  deep  starry  nights, 
lasting  for  weeks,  must  be  glorious. 

The  Corwin  towed  the  Golden  Fleece  to  sea  this 
morning,  and  we  hope  to  finish  coaling,  etc.,  in  a 
day  or  two,  and  set  out  once  more  to  the  shores 
of  Wrangell  Land. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A   SIBERIAN   REINDEER  HERD 

Steamer  Convtn, 
Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  August  26, 188 1, 

THIS  morning  a  party  from  the  ship  went  to 
the  head  of  the  bay  under  the  guidance  of  a 
pair  of  Chukchis  to  see  a  herd  of  reindeer  that  they 
told  us  was  there.  The  distance,  we  found,  is  about 
eighteen  miles  from  the  lower  harbor,  where  the 
Corwin  is  at  anchor.  The  day  was  fine  and  we 
enjoyed  the  sail  very  much,  skimming  rapidly  along 
in  the  steam  launch  over  smooth  water,  past  the 
huge  ice-sculptured  headlands  and  mountains  that 
formed  the  walls,  and  the  deep  canons  and  valleys 
between  them  that  swept  back  to  clusters  of  glacial 
fountains.  The  naturalist  made  desperate  efforts 
now  and  then  to  obtain  specimens  of  rare  auks, 
petrels,  ducks,  etc.,  which  were  flying  and  swim- 
ming about  us  In  great  abundance,  making  lively 
pictures  of  happy,  exuberant  life. 

The  rocks  bounding  the  bay,  though  beautiful  in 
their  combinations  and  collocations  of  curves  and 
peaks,  inflowing  and  touching  delicately,  and  rising 
in  bold,  picturesque  groups,  are,  nevertheless,  in- 
tensely desolate-looking  for  want  of  trees,  shrubs, 
or  vegetation  dense  enough  to  give  color  in  telling 
quantities  visible  at  a  distance.   Even  the  valleys 

[  205  1 


l^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

opening  back  from  the  water  here  and  there  are 
mostly  bare  as  seen  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two, 
and  have  only  faint  tinges  of  green  derived  from 
dwarf  willows,  sedges,  and  heathworts  that  creep 
low  among  the  stones.  Yet  here,  or  in  the  larger 
valleys  adjacent,  where  the  main  tributary  gla- 
ciers came  into  the  Plover  Bay  trunk,  and  in  other 
valleys  to  the  northeastward,  large  herds  of  rein- 
deer, wild  as  well  as  tame,  find  sustenance,  together 
with  a  few  wild  sheep  and  bears. 

On  the  terminal  moraine  of  the  ancient  glacier 
that  formed  the  first  main  tributary  of  the  Plover 
Bay  glacier,  some  four  miles  from  the  extreme  head 
of  the  bay,  we  noticed  two  small  skin-covered  huts, 
which  our  guides  informed  us  belonged  to  the  rein- 
deer people  we  were  seeking,  and  that  we  should 
certainly  find  them  at  home,  because  their  herd 
was  only  a  little  one  and  found  plenty  of  weeds 
and  moss  to  eat  in  the  valleys  behind  their  huts 
without  going  far  away,  as  the  people  had  to  do  who 
owned  big  herds.  At  two  days'  distance,  they  said, 
where  the  valleys  are  wide  and  green,  with  plenty 
to  eat,  there  is  a  big  herd  belonging  to  one  of  their 
friends,  so  big  that  they  cover  all  the  ground 
thereabouts;  but  the  herd  we  were  to  see  was  only 
a  little  one,  and  the  owner  was  not  a  rich  man. 

As  we  approached  the  shore,  a  hundred  yards  or 
so  from  the  huts,  a  young  man  came  running  to 
meet  us,  bounding  over  the  moraine  boulders,  with 

[  206  ] 


A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd 

easy  strength  as  if  his  limbs  had  been  trained  on 
the  mountains  for  many  a  year,  until  running  had. 
become  a  pleasant  indulgence.  He  was  presently 
joined  by  three  others,  who  gazed  and  smiled  curi- 
ously at  the  steam  launch  and  at  our  party,  won- 
dering suspiciously,  when  the  interpreter  had  told 
our  object,  why  we  should  come  so  far  and  seem  so 
eager  to  see  their  deer.  Our  guides,  who,  of  course, 
understood  their  prejudices  and  superstitions,  told 
them  that  we  wanted  a  big,  fat  deer  to  eat,  and 
that  we  would  pay  them  well  for  it  —  tobacco, 
lead,  powder,  caps,  shot,  calico,  knives,  etc.,  told 
off  in  tempting  order.  But  they  said  they  had  none 
to  sell,  and  it  required  half  an  hour  of  cautious 
negotiation  to  get  them  over  their  suspicious 
alarms,  and  [to  induce  them  to]  consent  to  sell  the 
carcass  of  one,  provided  we  would  leave  the  skin, 
which  they  said  they  wanted  to  keep  for  winter 
garments. 

Then  two  young  men,  fine,  strapping,  elastic  fel- 
lows, threw  off  their  upper  parkas,  tied  their  hand- 
somely embroidered  moccasins  firmly  across  the 
instep  and  around  the  ankle,  poised  their  long 
Russian  spears,  which  they  said  they  always  car- 
ried In  case  they  should  meet  a  bear  or  wolf,  and 
away  they  sped  after  the  herd  up  a  long,  wide 
glacier  valley  along  the  bank  of  a  stream,  bounding 
lightly  from  rock  to  rock  in  easy  poise,  and  across 
soft  bits  of  tundra  and  rough  sedgy  meadows  with 

[  207  ] 


^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

long,  heaving,  undulating  strides.  Their  gait,  as 
far  as  we  could  see,  was  steadily  maintained  and 
was  admirably  lithe  and  strong  and  graceful.  Their 
small  feet  and  ankles  and  round  tapered  shanks 
showed  to  fine  advantage  in  their  tight-fitting  leg- 
gings and  moccasins  as  they  went  speeding  over 
the  ground  like  trained  racers  glorying  in  their 
strength.  We  watched  them  through  field-glasses 
until  they  were  about  three  miles  away,  during 
which  time  they  did  not  appear  to  slacken  their 
pace  a  single  moment.  They  were  gone  about  three 
hours,  so  that  the  herd  must  have  been  at  least  six 
or  seven  miles  from  the  huts. 

In  the  meantime  we  ate  luncheon  and  strolled 
about  the  neighborhood  looking  at  the  plants,  at 
the  views  down  the  bay,  and  at  the  interior  of  the 
huts,  etc.  We  chatted  with  the  Chukchis  about 
their  herd,  about  the  wild  sheep  on  the  mountains, 
the  wild  reindeer,  bears,  and  wolves.  We  found 
that  the  family  consisted  of  father,  mother,  a  grown 
daughter,  and  the  boys  that  were  after  the  deer. 
The  old  folks  were  evidently  contented  and  happy 
in  their  safe  retreat  among  the  hills,  with  a  sure 
support  from  their  precious  herd.  And  they  were 
proud  of  their  red-cheeked  girl  and  two  strapping 
boys,  as  well  they  might  be;  for  they  seemed  as 
healthy  and  rosy  and  robust  a  group  of  children 
as  ever  gladdened  the  heart  of  Chukchi  parents. 
The  boys  appeared  to  be  part  owners  of  everything 

[  208  ] 


A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd 

about  the  house,  as  well  as  of  the  deer,  for  in  look- 
ing through  the  huts  we  saw  a  few  curious  odds 
and  ends  that  we  offered  to  purchase,  but  were 
told,  in  most  cases,  that  they  could  not  sell  them 
until  the  boys  came  back. 

Their  huts  are  like  all  we  have  seen  belonging  to 
the  Chukchis  as  far  north  and  west  as  we  have 
been  —  a  balloon  frame  of  long  poles  hewn  on  two 
sides  so  that  they  might  be  bent  outward,  the 
points  coming  together  not  in  the  middle,  but  a 
little  to  one  side  away  from  the  direction  of  the 
prevailing  wind,  which  gives  them  a  curious  hump- 
backed appearance.  This  frame  is  covered  with 
skin  of  the  walrus,  if  it  can  be  had ;  if  not,  then  with 
sealskin  or  deerskin.  No  great  pains  are  taken  to 
keep  them  rain-proof,  so  that  in  wet  weather  they 
are  oftentimes  damp  or  muddy.  But  there  is  not 
much  rain  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  the  deerskin 
pologs,  or  drawing  rooms  inside,  are  kept  perfectly 
dry  and  snug,  whatever  the  state  of  the  main  outer 
tent  may  chance  to  be. 

The  two  huts  at  this  place  are  smaller  and  more 
leaky  and  dilapidated  than  is  common.  The  cover- 
ing is  composed  of  different  kinds  of  skin,  perhaps 
a  thousand  pieces  sewed  together,  some  of  them 
with  the  hair  on,  the  whole  appearing  as  one  colos- 
sal patchwork,  as  if  made  up  of  small  scraps.  The 
head  of  the  family  seemed  to  be  a  little  ashamed  of 
them,  for  he  explained  with  the  air  of  a  man  making 

[  209  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

an  apology,  that  he  did  not  construct  them;  they 
formerly  belonged  to  some  one  else,  and  that  soon 
after  he  came  to  take  possession  one  of  them  was 
torn  open  by  a  hungry  bear  that  went  in  and 
frightened  his  wife  and  daughter  and  stole  some 
grease. 

The  Chukchis  seem  to  be  a  good-natured,  lively, 
chatty,  brave  and  polite  people,  fond  of  a  joke,  and, 
as  far  as  I  have  seen,  fair  in  their  dealings  as  any 
people,  savage  or  civilized.  They  are  not  savage 
by  any  means,  however,  but  steady,  industrious 
workers,  looking  well  ahead,  providing  for  the 
future,  and  consequently  seldom  in  want,  save 
when  at  long  intervals  disease  or  other  calamities 
overtake  their  herds,  or  exceptionally  severe  sea- 
sons prevent  their  obtaining  the  ordinary  supplies 
of  seals,  fish,  whales,  walruses,  bears,  etc.,  on  which 
the  sedentary  Chukchis  chiefly  depend.  The  sed- 
entary and  reindeer  Chukchis  are  the  same  peo- 
ple, and  are  said  to  difi'er  in  a  marked  degree,  both 
in  physical  characteristics  and  in  language,  from 
the  neighboring  tribes,  as  they  certainly  do  from 
the  Eskimos.  Many  of  them  have  light  complex- 
ions, hooked  or  aquiline  noses,  tall,  sinewy,  well- 
knit  frames,  small  feet  and  hands,  and  are  not, 
especially  the  men,  so  thick-set,  short-necked  or 
flat-faced  as  the  Eskimos. 

After  we  had  watched  impatiently  for  some  time, 
the  reindeer  came  in  sight,  about  a  hundred  and 

[   2IO  ] 


A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd 

fifty  of  them,  driven  gently  without  any  of  that 
noisy  shouting  and  worrying  that  are  heard  in 
driving  the  domestic  animals  in  civilized  countries. 
We  left  the  huts  and  went  up  the  stream  bank 
about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  to  meet  them,  led  by 
the  owner  and  his  wife  and  daughter,  who  carried  a 
knife  and  tin  cup  and  vessels  to  save  the  blood  and 
the  entrails  —  which  stirred  a  train  of  grim  asso- 
ciations that  greatly  marred  the  beauty  of  the 
picture. 

I  was  afraid  from  what  I  knew  of  the  habits  of 
sheep,  cattle,  and  horses  that  a  sight  of  strangers 
would  stampede  the  herd  when  we  met.  But  of  this, 
as  it  proved,  there  was  not  the  slightest  danger;  for 
of  all  the  familiar,  tame  animals  man  has  gathered 
about  him,  the  reindeer  is  the  tamest.  They  can 
hardly  be  said  to  be  domesticated^  since  they  are  not 
shut  in  around  the  huts,  or  put  under  shelter  either 
winter  or  summer.  On  they  came,  while  we  gazed 
eagerly  at  the  novel  sight  —  a  thicket  of  antlers, 
big  and  little,  old  and  young,  led  by  the  strongest, 
holding  their  heads  low  most  of  the  time,  as  if  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  they  were  carrying  very  big, 
branching  horns.  A  straggler  fell  behind  now  and 
then  to  cull  a  choice  mouthful  of  willow  or  dainty, 
gray  lichen,  then  made  haste  to  join  the  herd  again. 

They  waded  across  the  creek  and  came  straight 
toward  us,  up  the  sloping  bank  where  we  were 
waiting,  nearer,  nearer,  until  we  could  see  their 

[211    ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

eyes,  their  smooth,  round  limbs,  the  velvet  on  their 
horns,  until  within  five  or  six  yards  of  us,  the  driv- 
ers saying  scarce  a  word,  and  the  owner  in  front 
looking  at  them  as  they  came  up  without  making 
any  call  or  movement  to  attract  them.  After  giv- 
ing us  the  benefit  of  their  magnificent  eyes  and 
sweet  breath  they  began  to  feed  off,  back  up  the 
valley.  Thereupon  the  boys,  who  had  been  loiter- 
ing on  the  stream-side  to  catch  a  salmon  trout  or 
two,  went  round  them  and  drove  them  back  to  us. 
Then  the  deer  stopped  feeding  and  began  to  chew 
the  cud  and  to  lie  down,  with  eyes  partly  closed  and 
dreamy-looking,  as  if  profoundly  comfortable,  we 
strangers  causing  them  not  the  slightest  alarm 
though  standing  nearly  within  touching  distance  of 
them.  Cows  in  a  barnyard,  milked  and  petted  every 
day,  are  not  so  gentle.  Yet  these  beautiful  animals 
are  allowed  to  feed  at  will,  without  herding  to  any 
great  extent.  They  seem  as  smooth  and  clean  and 
glossy  as  if  they  were  wild.  Taming  does  not  seem 
to  have  injured  them  in  any  way.  I  saw  no  mark 
of  man  upon  them. 

They  are  not  so  large  as  I  had  been  led  to  sup- 
pose, nor  so  rough  and  bony  and  angular.  The 
largest  would  not  much  exceed  three  or  four  hun- 
dred pounds  in  weight.  They  are,  at  this  time 
of  year,  smooth,  trim,  delicately  molded  animals, 
very  fat,  and  apparently  short-winded,  for  they 
were  breathing  hard  when  they  came  up,  like  oxen 

[  212  ] 


A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd 

that  had  been  working  on  a  hot  day.  The  horns  of 
the  largest  males  are  about  four  feet  long,  rising 
with  a  backward  curve,  and  then  forward,  and 
dividing  into  three  or  four  points,  and  with  a  num- 
ber of  short  palmated  branches  putting  forward 
and  downward  from  the  base  over  the  animal's 
forehead.  Those  of  the  female  are  very  slender  and 
elegant  in  curve,  more  so  than  any  horns  I  have 
seen.  This  species  of  deer  is  said  to  be  the  only  one 
in  which  the  female  has  horns.  The  fawns,  also, 
have  horns  already,  six  inches  to  a  foot  long,  with 
a  few  blunt,  knobby  branches  beginning  to  sprout. 
All  are  now  in  the  velvet,  some  of  which  is  begin- 
ning to  peel  off  and  hang  in  loose  shreds  about  the 
heads  of  some  of  them,  producing  a  very  singular 
appearance,  as  if  they  had  been  fighting  a  rag-bag. 
The  so-called  velvet  is  a  close,  soft,  downy  fur, 
black  in  color,  and  very  fine  and  silky,  about  three 
eighths  or  half  an  inch  long,  with  a  few  hairs  nearly 
an  inch  in  length  rising  stiflfly  here  and  there  over 
the  general  plushy  surface.  All  the  branches  of 
their  horns  are  covered,  giving  an  exceedingly  rich 
and  beautiful  effect.  The  eyes  are  large,  and  in 
expression  confiding  and  gentle.  The  head,  con- 
trary to  my  preconceived  notions  derived  from 
engravings,  is,  on  the  whole,  delicately  formed,  the 
muzzle  long  and  straight,  blunt  and  cowlike.  The 
neck  is  thin,  tapering  but  little,  rather  deep,  and 
held,  while  standing  at  ease,  sloping  down  a  little, 

[  213  ] 


T'he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

and  the  large  males  have  long  hair  on  the  under 
side.  The  body  is  round,  almost  cylindrical  —  the 
belly  not  at  all  bloated  or  bent  out  like  that  of  a 
cow.  The  legs  are  stout,  but  not  clumsy,  and 
taper  finely  into  the  muscles  of  the  shoulders  and 
hips.  The  feet  are  very  broad  and  spreading,  mak- 
ing a  track  about  as  large  as  a  cow's.  This  enables 
the  animal  to  walk  over  boggy  tundras  in  summer 
and  over  snow  in  winter. 

In  color  they  vary  almost  as  much  in  some  speci- 
mens as  do  cattle  and  horses,  showing  white,  brown, 
black  and  gray  at  the  same  time.  The  prevailing 
color  is  nearly  black  in  summer,  brownish-white  in 
winter.  The  colors  of  the  tame  animals  are  not  so 
constant  as  those  of  the  wild.  The  hair  is,  when  full 
grown,  very  heavy,  with  fine  wool  at  the  bottom, 
thus  making  a  warm  covering  sufficient  to  enable 
the  animal  to  resist  the  keenest  frosts  of  the  Arctic 
winter  without  any  shelter  beyond  the  lee  side  of  a 
rock  or  hill. 

After  walking  through  the  midst  of  the  herd,  the 
boys  selected  a  rather  small  specimen  to  be  killed. 
One  caught  it  by  the  hind  leg,  just  as  sheep  are 
caught,  and  dragged  it  backward  out  of  the  herd; 
then  the  other  boy  took  it  by  the  horns  and  led  it 
away  a  few  yards  from  the  herd,  no  notice  being 
taken  of  its  struggles  by  its  companions,  nor  was 
any  tendency  to  take  fright  observed,  such  as 
would,  under  the  circumstances,  have  been  shown 

[  214  1 


A  Siberian  Reindeer  Herd 

by  any  of  the  common  domestic  animals.  The 
mother  alone  looked  after  it  eagerly,  and  further 
manifested  her  concern  and  affection  by  uttering 
a  low,  grunting  sound,  and  by  trying  to  follow  it. 

After  it  was  slain  they  laid  it  on  its  side.  One  of 
the  women  brought  forward  a  branch  of  willow 
about  a  foot  long,  with  the  green  leaves  on  it,  and 
put  it  under  the  animal's  head.  Then  she  threw 
four  or  five  handfuls  of  the  blood,  from  the  knife- 
wound  back  of  the  shoulder,  out  over  the  ground 
to  the  southward,  making  me  get  out  of  the  way, 
as  if  this  direction  were  the  only  proper  one.  Next 
she  took  a  cupful  of  water  and  poured  a  little  on  its 
mouth  and  tail  and  on  the  wound.  While  this  cere- 
mony was  being  performed  all  the  family  looked 
serious,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  over  they  began  to 
laugh  and  chat  as  before.  The  herd,  during  the 
time  of  the  killing  and  dressing,  were  tranquilly 
chewing  their  cud,  not  noticing  even  the  smell  of 
the  blood,  which  makes  cattle  so  frantic. 

One  of  our  party  was  anxious  to  procure  a 
young  one  alive  to  take  home  with  him,  but  they 
would  not  sell  one  alive  at  any  price.  When  we  in- 
quired the  reason  they  said  that  if  they  should  part 
with  one,  all  the  rest  of  the  herd  would  die,  and  the 
same  thing  would  happen  if  they  were  to  part  with 
the  head  of  one.  This  they  excitedly  declared  was 
true,  for  they  had  seen  it  proved  many  times 
though  white  men  did  not  understand  it  and  al- 

[215  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

ways  laughed  about  it.  When  we  indicated  a  very 
large  buck  and  inquired  why  they  did  not  kill  that 
big  one,  and  let  the  little  ones  grow,  they  replied 
that  that  big  fellow  was  strong,  and  knew  how  to 
pull  a  sled,  and  could  run  fast  over  the  snow  that 
would  come  by-and-by,  and  they  needed  him  too 
much  to  kill  him. 

I  have  never  before  seen  half  so  interesting  a 
company  of  tame  animals.  In  some  parts  of  Siberia 
reindeer  herds  numbering  many  thousands  may  be 
seen  together.  In  these  frozen  regions  they  supply 
every  want  of  their  owners  as  no  other  animal  could 
possibly  do  —  food,  warm  clothing,  coverings  for 
their  tents,  bedding,  rapid  transportation  and,  to 
some  extent,  fuel.  They  are  not  nearly  so  numerous 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  bay  as  they  once 
were,  a  fact  attributed  to  the  sale  of  several  live 
specimens  to  whalers. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TURNED   BACK   BY  STORMS  AND   ICE 

Steamer  Corzvin,  Arctic  Ocean, 

Between  Herald  Shoals  and  Point  Hope, 

September  5,  188 1. 

ON  the  morning  of  August  27,  having  taken  on 
board  a  full  supply  of  coal  and  water,  and 
put  the  ship  in  as  good  condition  as  possible,  we 
left  Plover  Bay  and  turned  once  more  toward 
Wrangell  Land. 

In  passing  Marcus  Bay,  a  short  distance  up  the 
coast  from  Plover  Bay,  the  Captain  wished  to  make 
a  landing  to  give  some  instructions  to  our  Chukchi 
interpreter  and  dog-driver,  who  lives  here,  con- 
cerning the  dogs  and  sleds  that  were  left  at  Tapkan. 
The  weather  was  too  thick,  however,  to  allow  this, 
and  the  ship  was  put  on  her  course  for  the  western 
Diomede  Island,  where  we  arrived,  against  a  stiff 
head  wind  and  through  thick  fog,  shortly  after 
noon  on  the  twenty-eighth.  We  lay  at  anchor  for  a 
few  hours,  while  the  wind  from  the  Arctic  came  dash- 
ing and  swirling  over  the  island  in  squally  gusts. 

In  the  meantime,  while  waiting  to  see  whether 
the  wind  would  moderate  before  we  proceeded 
through  the  strait,  we  went  ashore  and  greatly 
enjoyed  a  stroll  through  the  streets  and  houses  of 
the  curious  village  here.    It  is  built  on  the  bald, 

[  217  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

rugged  side  of  the  island,  where  the  slope  is  almost 
cliff-like  in  steepness  and  rockiness.  The  winter 
houses  are  wood-lined  burrows  underground,  en- 
tered by  a  tunnel,  and  warm  and  snug  like  the 
nest  of  a  fieldmouse  beneath  a  sod,  though  terribly 
thick  and  rancid  as  to  the  air  contained  in  them. 
The  summer  houses  are  square  skin  boxes  above 
ground,  and  set  on  long  stilt  poles.  Neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  look  in  the  least  like  houses  or  huts 
of  any  sort.  But  those  made  of  skin  are  the  queer- 
est human  nests  conceivable.  They  are  simply 
light,  square  frames  made  of  drift  poles  gathered 
on  the  beach,  and  covered  with  walrus  hide  that 
has  been  carefully  dressed  and  stretched  tightly  on 
the  frame  like  the  head  of  a  drum.  The  skin  is  of  a 
yellow  color,  and  quite  translucent,  so  that  when  in 
one  feels  as  if  one  were  inside  a  huge  blown  bladder, 
the  light  sifting  in  through  the  skin  at  the  top  and  all 
around,  yellow  as  a  sunset.  The  entire  establishment 
is  window,  one  pane  for  the  roof,  which  is  also  the 
ceiling,  and  one  for  each  of  the  four  sides,  without 
cross  sash-bars  to  mar  the  brave  simplicity  of  it  all. 
Most  of  the  inhabitants,  of  whom  there  are  per- 
haps a  hundred,  had  just  returned  from  a  long 
voyage  in  their  canoes  to  Cape  Prince  of  Wales, 
Kotzebue  Sound,  and  other  points  on  the  Ameri- 
can coast,  for  purposes  of  trade,  bringing  back 
ivory  and  furs  to  sell  to  the  Chukchis  of  Siberia, 
who  in  turn  will  carry  these  articles  by  a  round- 

[  218  ] 


turned  Back  by  Storms  and  Ice 

about  way  nearly  a  thousand  miles  to  the  Russian 
trading  post,  and  return  with  goods  to  trade  back 
to  the  Diomede  merchants,  through  whose  hands 
they  will  pass  to  the  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  natives, 
and  from  these  to  several  others  up  the  Inland 
River,  down  the  Colville,  to  Point  Barrow  and  east- 
ward as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River. 
The  Diomede  merchants  are  true  middlemen, 
and  their  village  a  half-way  house  of  commerce 
between  northeastern  Asia  and  America.  The 
extent  of  the  dealings  of  these  people,  usually 
regarded  as  savages,  is  truly  surprising.  And  that 
they  can  keep  warm  and  make  a  living  on  this 
bleak,  fog-smothered,  storm-beaten  rock,  and  have 
time  to  beget,  feed,  and  train  children,  and  give 
them  a  good  Eskimo  education;  that  they  teach 
them  to  shoot  the  bow,  to  make  and  throw  the 
bird  spears,  to  make  and  use  those  marvelous 
kayaks,  to  kill  seals,  bears,  and  walrus,  to  hunt  the 
whale,  capture  the  different  kinds  of  fishes,  manu- 
facture different  sorts  of  leather,  dress  skins  and 
make  them  into  clothing,  besides  teaching  them  to 
carry  on  trade,  to  make  fire  by  rubbing  two  pieces 
of  wood  together,  and  to  build  the  strange  houses 
—  that  they  can  do  all  this,  and  still  have  time 
to  be  sociable,  to  dance,  sing,  gossip,  and  discuss 
ghosts,  spirits,  and  all  the  nerve-racking  marvels  of 
the  shaman  world,  shows  how  truly  wild,  and  brave, 
and  capable  a  people  these  island  Eskimos  are. 

[  219  ] 


T^he  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

The  wind  having  moderated,  we  got  away  from 
the  box-and-burrow  village  and  through  the  Strait 
before  dark;  then  we  steered  for  the  south  end  of 
Wrangell  Land,  and  after  a  speedy  and  uneventful 
voyage  came  in  sight  of  the  highest  of  the  coast 
mountains,  on  the  thirtieth  at  noon.  Thus  far  we 
had  not  seen  the  ice,  and,  inasmuch  as  nineteen 
summer  days  had  passed  over  it  since  our  last  visit, 
we  hoped  that  it  might  have  been  melted  consid- 
erably and  broken  up  by  the  winds,  so  as  to  admit 
of  a  way  being  forced  through  it  at  some  point  up 
to  the  land,  or  so  near  it  that  we  might  get  ashore 
by  crossing  over  the  coast  ice,  dragging  our  light 
skin  boat  after  us  in  case  we  should  come  to  lanes 
of  open  water. 

In  this,  however,  we  were  disappointed ;  for  when 
three  and  a  half  hours  later  we  came  up  to  the  edge 
of  the  pack  it  was  found  to  all  appearances  un- 
changed. It  still  extended  about  twenty  miles  off- 
shore; it  trended  as  far  as  we  could  see  in  the  same 
direction  as  was  observed  before,  and  it  seemed  as 
heavy  and  unbroken  as  ever,  offering  no  encourage- 
ment for  efforts  in  this  direction.  We  therefore 
sailed  along  the  edge  of  the  pack  to  the  eastward 
to  see  what  might  be  accomplished  towards  our 
first  landing  place.  We  gazed  at  the  long  stretch 
of  wilderness  which  spread  invitingly  before  us, 
and  which  we  were  so  eager  to  explore  —  the 
rounded,  glaciated  bosses  and  foothills,  the  moun- 

[  220  ] 


H^urned  Back  by  Storms  and  Ice 

tains,  with  their  ice-sculptured  features  of  hollows 
and  ridges  and  long  withdrawing  valleys,  which  in 
former  visits  we  had  sketched,  and  scanned  so 
attentively  through  field-glasses,  and  which  now 
began  to  wear  a  familiar  look.  The  sky  was  over- 
cast, the  land  seemed  almost  black  in  the  gloomy 
light,  and  a  heavy  swell  began  to  be  felt  coming  in 
from  the  northeast.  Towards  night,  when  we  were 
not  far  from  our  old  landing  near  the  easternmost 
extremity  of  the  land,  the  Corwin  was  hove  to,  wait- 
ing for  the  morning  before  attempting  to  seek  a  way 
in.  But  the  next  day,  August  31,  was  stormy.  The 
wind  from  the  northeast  blew  hard  inshore,  there- 
fore it  was  not  considered  safe  to  approach  too  near. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  were  in  sight  of  the  ice  oppo- 
site the  northeast  cape,  and  it  seemed  to  be  farther 
oif  the  land  than  at  our  first  visit,  and  no  opening 
appeared,  though  the  weather  was  so  dim  and 
rough  that  nothing  could  be  definitely  determined. 
Generally,  however,  the  ice  was  now  drifting 
against  the  east  side  of  Wrangell  Land,  and  coming 
southward  to  so  great  an  extent  that  our  chances  of 
efi*ecting  another  landing  began  to  be  less  promising. 

When  we  were  within  twenty  miles  of  Herald 
Island  we  hove  to,  waiting  better  weather  before 
entering  narrow  lanes  and  bays  in  the  pack  when 
so  heavy  a  sea  was  running.  The  sky  was  dismal 
all  the  afternoon  —  toward  night,  dull,  lurid  pur- 
ple—  and  the.  wind  was  blowing  a  gale.   The  ice- 

[  221  ] 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

breaker,  made  of  heavy  boiler  iron,  was  broken  by 
the  pounding  of  the  waves,  and  had  to  be  cut  away, 
which  is  unfortunate  at  this  particular  time. 

September  i  was  a  howling  storm-day,  through 
which  we  lay  to,  swashing  and  rolling  wildly  among 
white  waves,  and  drifting  southeastward  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  a  day.  The  next  day  there  was 
no  abatement  in  the  force  of  the  gale  up  to  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  A  heavy  sea,  streaked 
with  foam,  was  running  parallel  to  the  direction  of 
the  wind,  while  the  air  was  filled  with  snow,  adding 
to  the  wintry  aspect  of  the  day.  While  we  were  still 
holding  on,  hoping  the  storm  would  subside  from 
hour  to  hour,  one  of  the  rudder  chains  parted. 

This  made  Captain  Hooper  decide  that  in  view 
of  the  condition  of  the  ship,  and  the  ice,  and  the 
weather,  the  risk  attending  further  efforts  this  year 
to  search  the  shores  of  Wrangell  Land  should  not 
be  incurred,  more  especially  since  the  position  and 
drift  of  the  ice  held  out  but  little  promise  of  allow- 
ing another  landing  to  be  made,  or  of  a  sufficiently 
near  approach  to  enable  us  to  add  appreciably  to 
the  knowledge  already  acquired.  Accordingly,  after 
the  rudder  was  mended  as  securely  as  possible,  the 
good  Corwin,  excused  from  further  ice  duty,  was 
turned  away  from  the  war  and  headed  for  the 
American  coast  at  Point  Hope. 

Had  the  ship  been  in  good  condition,  the  battle 
would  probably  have  been  waged  a  few  more  weeks 

[   222  ] 


Turned  Back  by  Storms  and  Ice 

along  the  edge  of  the  ice  barrier,  watching  the 
appearance  of  any  vulnerable  point  of  attack, 
whatever  the  result  might  have  been.  Now  it 
seems  we  are  homeward  bound.  We  intend  to  stop 
at  Kotzebue  Sound,  St.  Michael,  St.  Paul,  and 
Unalaska  to  make  necessary  repairs,  take  on  coal, 
etc.,  and  we  may  reach  San  Francisco  by  the 
middle  of  October. 

We  have  not  met  the  Rodgers.  We  learned  from 
the  natives  at  Plover  Bay  that  she  had  called  there 
and  left  seven  days  before  our  arrival.  That  was 
August  17.  We  suppose  she  went  to  St.  Michael 
from  there  to  coal  and  take  on  provisions,  which 
would  probably  require  a  week.  If  so,  we  may  have 
passed  the  Strait  ahead  of  her.  But  in  case  she  had 
already  been  at  St.  Michael,  then,  in  following  out 
her  instructions,  she  could  trace  the  Siberian  coast 
for  some  distance,  making  inquiries  among  the 
Chukchis,  where  she  may  possibly  be  at  present. 
Or,  if  this  part  of  the  work  of  the  expedition  had 
been  completed  before  the  coming  on  of  the  gale, 
she  may  be  sheltering  about  Herald  Island  or  some 
point  on  the  coast  of  Wrangell  Land.^ 

*  Mr.  Muir's  supposition  proved  to  be  correct.  The  U.S.S. 
Rodgers,  Lieutenant  R.  M.  Berry  commanding,  reached  Wrangell 
Land,  August  25,  and  found  shelter  the  next  day  in  a  snug  little 
harbor  on  the  southeastern  coast  of'the  island.  There  the  Rodgers 
remained  until  September  13,  while  two  search  parties  explored 
the  shores  of  the  island  for  traces  of  the  Jeannette  expedition. 


CHAPTER  XX 

HOMEWARD-BOUND 

Steamer  Corwin,  Unalasha,  October  4, 1881. 

ON  the  home  voyage,  all  the  hard  Arctic  work 
done,  the  Corwin  stopped  a  week  at  the  head 
of  Kotzebue  Sound,  near  Chamisso  Island,  to  seek 
a  fresh  supply  of  water  and  make  some  needful 
repairs  and  observations,  during  which  time  I  had 
a  capital  opportunity  to  examine  the  curious  and 
interesting  ice  formations  of  the  shores  of  Esch- 
scholtz  Bay.  I  found  ice  in  some  form  or  other, 
exposed  at  intervals  of  from  a  mile  to  a  few  yards, 
on  the  tide-washed  front  of  the  shore  bluffs  on 
both  sides  of  the  bay,  a  distance  of  about  fifty'miles. 
But  it  is  only  the  most  conspicuous  mass,  forming 
a  bluif,  at  Elephant  Point,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
bay,  that  seems  to  have  been  observed  hitherto,  or 
attracted  much  attention. 

This  Elephant  Point,  so  called  from  the  fossil 
elephant  tusks  found  here,  is  a  bluif  of  solid  ice, 
one  hundred  and  forty  feet  high,  covered  on  the 
top  with  a  foot  or  two  of  ordinary  tundra  vegeta- 
tion, and  with  tall  grass  on  the  terraces  and  shelv- 
ing portions  of  the  front,  wherever  the  slope  is 
sufficiently  gentle  for  soil  to  find  rest.  It  is  a  rigid 
fossil  fragment  of  a  glacier  leaning  back  against 

[  224  ] 


Homeward-Bound 

the  north  side  of  a  hill,  mostly  in  shadow,  and  cov- 
ered lightly  with  glacial  detritus  from  the  hill  slope 
above  it,  over  which  the  tundra  vegetation  has 
gradually  been  extended,  and  which  eventually 
formed  a  thick  feltlike  protection  against  waste 
during  the  summer.  Thus  it  has  lasted  until  now, 
wasting  only  on  the  exposed  face  fronting  the  bay, 
which  is  being  constantly  undermined,  the  soil  and 
vegetation  on  top  being  precipitated  over  the  raw, 
melting  ice  front  and  washed  away  by  the  tide. 
Were  it  not  that  its  base  is  swept  by  tide  currents, 
the  accumulation  of  tundra  moss  and  peat  would 
finally  re-bury  the  front  and  check  further  waste. 
As  it  is,  the  formation  will  not  last  much  longer  — 
probably  not  more  than  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hun- 
dred years.  Its  present  age  is  perhaps  more  than 
this. 

When  one  walks  along  the  base  of  the  formation 
—  which  is  about  a  mile  or  so  in  length  —  making 
one's  way  over  piles  of  rotten  humus  and  through 
sloppy  bog  mud  of  the  consistence  of  watery  por- 
ridge, mixed  with  bones  of  elephants,  buffaloes, 
musk  oxen,  etc.,  the  ice  so  closely  resembles  the 
wasting  snout  of  a  glacier,  with  its  jagged  project- 
ing ridges,  ledges,  and  small,  dripping,  tinkling  rills, 
that  it  is  not  easy  to  realize  that  it  is  not  one  in 
ordinary  action. 

Mingled  with  the  true  glacier  ice  we  notice 
masses  of  dirty  stratified  ice,  made  up  of  clean 

[  225  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

layers  alternating  with  layers  of  mud  and  sand, 
and  mingled  with  bits  of  humus  and  sphagnum, 
and  of  leaves  and  stems  of  the  various  plants  that 
grow  on  the  tundra  above.  This  dirty  ice  of  pecu- 
liar stratification  never  blends  into  the  glacier  ice, 
but  is  simply  frozen  upon  it,  filling  cavities  or 
spreading  over  slopes  here  and  there.  It  is  formed 
by  the  freezing  of  films  of  clear  and  dirty  water 
from  the  broken  edge  of  the  tundra,  a  process  going 
on  every  spring  and  autumn,  when  frosts  and  thaws 
succeed  each  other  night  and  morning,  cloudy  days 
and  sunny  days.  This,  of  course,  is  of  compara- 
tively recent  age,  even  the  oldest  of  it. 

A  striking  result  of  the  shaking  up  and  airing 
and  draining  of  the  tundra  soil  is  seen  on  the  face 
of  the  ice  slopes  and  terraces.  When  the  under- 
mined tundra  material  rolls  down  upon  those  por- 
tions of  the  ice  front  where  it  can  come  to  rest,  it  is 
well  buffeted  and  shaken,  and  frequently  lies  up- 
side down  as  if  turned  with  a  plow.  Here  it  is  well 
drained  through  resting  on  melting  ice,  and  though 
not  more  than  a  foot  or  two  in  thickness,  it  pro- 
duces a  remarkably  close  and  tall  growth  of  grass, 
four  to  six  feet  high,  and  as  lush  and  broad-leaved 
as  may  be  found  in  any  farmer's  field.  Cut  for  hay 
it  would  make  about  four  or  five  tons  per  acre. 

Only  a  few  other  plants  that  would  be  called 
weeds  are  found  growing  among  the  grass,  mostly 
senecio  and  artemisia,  both  tall  and  exuberant, 

[  226  ] 


Homeward-Bound 

showing  the  effects  of  this  curious  system  of  culti- 
vation on  this  strange  soil.  The  vegetation  on  top 
of  the  bluff  is  the  most  beautiful  that  I  have  yet 
seen,  not  rank  and  cultivated  looking,  like  that  on 
the  face  slopes,  but  showing  the  finest  and  most 
delicate  beauty  of  wildness,  in  forms,  combinations, 
and  colors  of  leaf,  stalk,  and  fruit.  There  were  red 
and  yellow  dwarf  birch,  arbutus,  willow,  and  pur- 
ple huckleberry,  with  lovely  grays  of  sedges  and 
lichens. '  The  neutral  tints  of  the  lichens  are  in- 
tensely beautiful. 

I  found  the  shore-bluff  towards  the  mouth  of  the 
Buckland  River  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high,  with 
a  regular  slope  of  about  thirty  degrees.  It  was  cov- 
ered with  willows  and  alders,  some  of  them  five  or 
six  feet  high,  and  long  grass;  also  patches  of  ice 
here  and  there,  but  no  large  masses.  The  soil  is  a 
fine  blue  clay  at  bottom,  with  water-worn  quartz, 
pebbles  and  sand  above  it,  like  that  of  the  opposite 
side  of  the  estuary,  and  evidently  brought  down 
by  the  river  floods  when  the  ice  of  the  glaciers  that 
occupied  this  river  basin  and  that  of  the  Kuuk  ^ 
was  melting. 

The  ice  that  I  found  here  and  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay,  especially  where  the  tundra  is  low 
and  flat,  let  us  say  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  sea, 

^  A  river  tributary  to  Eschscholtz  Bay  from  the  east.  It  was 
called  Kuuk  on  British  Admiralty  charts  of  the  early  eighties, 
but  is  now  known  as  the  Mungoark  River. 

[   227  I 


The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

and  covered  with  pools  and  strips  of  water,  is  not 
glacier  ice,  but  ice  derived  from  water  freezing 
in  pools  and  veins  and  hollows,  overgrown  with 
mosses,  lichens,  etc.,  and  afterwards  exposed  as 
fossil  ice  on  the  shore  face  of  the  tundra  where  it  is 
being  wasted  by  the  action  of  the  sea.  The  tundra 
has  been  cracked  in  every  direction,  and  in  looking 
over  its  surface,  slight  depressions,  or  some  differ- 
ence in  the  vegetation,  indicate  the  location  and 
extent  of  the  fissures.  When  these  are  traced  for- 
ward to  the  edge  of  the  shore-bluff,  a  cross-section 
of  ice  is  seen  from  two  to  four  or  five  feet  wide. 
The  larger  sections  are  simply  the  exposed  sides  of 
those  ice  veins  that  chance  to  trend  in  a  direction 
parallel  to  the  face  of  the  bluff.  Besides  these  I  found 
several  other  kinds  of  ice,  differing  in  origin  from 
the  foregoing,  but  which  can  hardly  be  described  in 
a  mere  letter,  however  interesting  to  the  geologist. 
At  St.  Michael  we  found  a  party  of  wrecked 
prospectors  from  Golofnin  Bay,  who  were  anxiously 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Corwin,  as  she  would  be 
the  last  vessel  leaving  for  California  this  year.  This 
proved  to  be  the  Oakland  party  mentioned  in  a 
previous  letter.  With  genuine  Yankee  enterprise 
[these  men]  had  pushed  their  way  into  the  far  wil- 
derness beyond  the  Yukon  to  seek  for  silver.  Speci- 
mens of  bright,  exciting  ore,  assaying  a  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  to  the  ton,  had  been  exhibited  in 
Oakland,  brought  from  a  mine  said  to  be  located 

[  228  ] 


Homeward^Bound 

near  tide  water  at  Golofnin  Bay,  Alaska,  and  so 
easily  worked  that  large  ships  could  be  loaded  with 
the  precious  ore  about  as  readily  as  with  common 
ballast.  Thereupon  a  company,  called  the  Alaska 
Mining  Company,  was  organized,  the  schooner 
W.  F.  March  chartered,  and  with  the  necessary 
supplies  a  party  of  ten  sailed  from  San  Francisco 
May  5, 1881,  for  Golofnin  Bay,  to  explore  this  mine 
in  particular,  and  the  region  in  general,  and  then 
to  return,  this  fall,  with  a  cargo  of  ore. 

They  arrived  in  Golofnin  Bay  June  18,  lost  their 
vessel  in  a  gale  on  the  north  side  of  the  bay  August 
15,  and  arrived  in  twenty-one  days  at  St.  Michael 
in  canoes  and  a  boat  that  was  saved  from  the 
wreck.  They  found  the  mine  as  rich  as  represented, 
but  far  less  accessible.  It  is  said  to  be  about  thirty 
miles  from  tide  water.  All  feel  confident  that  they 
have  a  valuable  mine.  Two  or  three  of  the  party 
were  away  at  the  time  of  the  disaster,  prospecting 
for  cinnabar  on  the  Kuskoquim,  and  are  left  behind 
to  pass  the  winter  as  best  they  may  at  some  of  the 
trading  stations. 

Our  two  weeks'  stay  at  Unalaska  has  been  pleas- 
ant and  restful  after  the  long  cruise  —  about  four- 
teen thousand  miles  altogether  up  to  this  point. 
The  hill  slopes  and  mountains  look  richly  green 
and  foodful,  and  the  views  about  the  harbor,  at 
the  close  and  beginning  of  storms,  when  clouds  are 
wreathing  the  alpine  summits,  are  very  beautiful. 

[  229  ] 


"The  Cruise  of  the  Corwin 

The  huts  of  the  Aleuts  here  are  very  picturesque 
at  this  time  of  the  year.  The  grass  grows  tall  over 
the  sides  and  the  roof,  waving  in  the  wind,  and 
making  a  fine  fringe  about  the  windows  and  the 
door.  When  the  church  bell  rings  on  Sunday 
and  the  good  calico-covered  people  plod  sedately 
forth  to  worship,  and  the  cows  on  the  hillside  moo 
blandly,  and  the  sun  shines  over  the  green  slopes, 
then  the  scene  is  like  a  bit  of  New  England  or  old 
Scotland.  But  later  in  the  day,  when  the  fiery 
kvass  is  drunk,  and  the  accordions  and  concertinas 
and  cheap  music  boxes  are  in  full  blast,  then  the 
noise  and  unseemly  clang  attending  drunkenness 
is  not  at  all  like  a  Scotch  sabbath. 

Most  of  the  Aleuts  have  an  admixture  of  Rus- 
sian blood.  Many  of  them  dance  well.  Three  balls 
were  given  during  our  stay  here,  that  is  to  say, 
American  balls  with  native  women.  The  Aleuts 
have  their  own  dances  in  their  small  huts. 

A  few  days  ago  I  made  an  excursion  to  the  top  of 
a  well-formed  volcanic  cone  at  the  mouth  of  a  pic- 
turesque glacial  fiord,  about  eight  miles  from  here. 
This  mountain,  about  two  thousand  feet  high, 
commands  a  magnificent  view  of  the  mountains  of 
Unalaska,  Akutan,  and  adjacent  islands.  Akutan  ^ 
still  emits  black  smoke  and  cinders  at  times,  and 
thunders  loud  enough  to  be  heard  at  Unalaska. 

^  The  highest  mountain  of  Akutan  Island.  The  United  States 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Chart  No.  8860  gives  its  altitude  as 
forty-one  hundred  feet. 

[  230  ] 


Homeward-Bound 

The  noblest  of  them  all  was  Makushin,^  about 
nine  thousand  feet  high  and  laden  with  glaciers,  a 
grand  sight,  far  surpassing  what  I  had  been  led  to 
expect.  There  is  a  spot  on  its  summit  which  is  said 
to  smoke,  probably  mostly  steam  and  vapor  from 
the  infiltration  of  water  into  the  heated  cavities  of 
the  old  volcano.  The  extreme  summit  of  Makushin 
was  wrapped  in  white  clouds,  and  from  beneath 
these  the  glaciers  were  seen  descending  impressively 
into  the  sunshine  to  within  a  thousand  or  fifteen 
hundred  feet  of  sea-level.  This  fine  mountain, 
glittering  in  its  showy  mail  of  snow  and  ice,  to- 
gether with  a  hundred  other  peaks  dipping  into 
the  blue  sky,  and  every  one  of  them  telling  the 
work  of  ice  or  fire  in  their  forms  and  sculpture  — 
these,  and  the  sparkling  sea,  and  long  inreaching 
fiords,  are  a  noble  picture  to  add  to  the  thousand 
others  which  have  enriched  our  lives  this  summer 
in  the  great  Northland. 

*  See  footnote  p.  242. 


THE  END 


Appendix 


Appendix 


THE  GLACIATION  OF  THE  ARCTIC  AND  SUB- 
ARCTIC REGIONS  VISITED  DURING 
THE  CRUISE 

THE  monuments  of  the  glaciatlon  of  the  regions 
about  Bering  Sea  and  the  northern  shores  of 
Siberia  and  Alaska  are  in  general  much  broken  and 
obscured  on  account  of  the  intensity  of  the  action  of 
the  agents  of  destruction  in  these  low,  moist  regions, 
together  with  the  perishable  character  of  the  rocks  of 
which  most  of  the  monuments  consist.  Lofty  head- 
lands, once  covered  with  clear  glacial  inscriptions, 
have  been  undermined  and  cast  down  in  loose,  drag- 
gled taluses,  while  others,  in  a  dim,  ruinous  condition, 
with  most  of  their  surface  records  effaced,  are  rapidly 
giving  way  to  the  weather.  The  moraines,  also,  and 
the  grooved,  scratched,  and  polished  surfaces  are 
much  blurred  and  wasted,  while  glaciated  areas  of 
great  extent  are  not  open  to  observation  at  all,  being 
covered  by  the  shallow  waters  of  Bering  Sea  and  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  and  buried  beneath  sediments  and 
coarse  detritus  which  has  been  weathered  from  the 
higher  grounds,  or  deposited  by  the  ice  itself  when  it 
was  being  melted  and  withdrawn  towards  the  close 
of  the  main  glacial  period.  But  amid  this  general 
waste  and  obscurity  a  few  legible  fragments,  favor- 
ably situated  here  and  there,  have  escaped  destruc- 
tion —  patches  of  polished  and  striated  surfaces  in  aj 

[  23s  ] 


Appendix 


fair  state  of  preservation,  with  moraines  of  local  gla- 
ciers that  have  not  been  exposed  to  the  heavier  forms 
of  water  or  avalanche  action.  And  had  these  fading 
vestiges  perished  altogether,  yet  would  not  the  ob- 
server be  left  without  a  sure  guide,  for  there  are  other 
monuments  of  ice  action  in  all  glaciated  regions  that 
are  almost  indestructible,  enduring  for  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  years  after  those  simpler  traces  that  we  have 
been  considering  have  vanished.  These  are  the  ma- 
terial of  moraines,  though  scattered,  washed,  crum- 
bled, and  reformed  over  and  over  again;  and  the 
sculpture  and  configuration  of  the  landscape  in  gen- 
eral, canons,  valleys,  mountains,  ridges,  roches  mou- 
tonnees  with  forms  and  correlations  specifically  gla- 
cial. These,  also,  it  is  true,  suffer  incessant  waste, 
being  constantly  written  upon  by  other  agents;  yet, 
because  the  glacial  characters  are  formed  on  so  colos- 
sal a  scale  of  magnitude,  they  continue  to  stand  out 
free  and  clear  through  every  after  inscription  whether 
of  the  torrent,  the  avalanche,  or  universal  eroding 
atmosphere;  opening  grand  and  comprehensive  views 
of  the  vanished  ice,  and  the  geographical  and  topo- 
graphical changes  effected  by  its  action  in  the  form  of 
local  and  distinct  glaciers.  River-like,  they  flowed 
from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  and,  as  a  broad,  undu- 
lating, mantle,  crawled  over  all  the  landscape  through 
unnumbered  centuries;  crushed  and  ground  and 
spread  soil-beds;  fashioned  the  features  of  mountain 
and  plain;  extended  the  domain  of  the  sea;  separated 
continents;  dotted  new  coasts  with  islands,  fringed 
them  with  deep  inreaching  fiords,  and  impressed  their 
peculiar  style  of  sculpture  on  all  the  regions  over 
which  they  passed. 

A  general  exploration  of  the  mountain  ranges  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  shows  that  there  are  about  sixty-five 
small  residual  glaciers  on  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  Call- 

[  236  ] 


Appendix 


fornia,  between  latitude  36^  30'  and  39®,  distributed 
singly  or  in  small  groups  on  the  north  sides  of  the 
highest  peaks  at  an  elevation  of  about  eleven  to 
twelve  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  rep- 
resentatives of  the  grand  glaciers  that  once  covered 
all  the  range.  More  than  two  thirds  of  these  lie 
between  latitude  37®  and  38°,  and  form  the  highest 
sources  of  the  San  Joaquin,  Tuolumne,  Merced,  and 
Owens  Rivers. 

Mount  Shasta,  near  the  northern  boundary  of  Cali- 
fornia, has  a  few  shrinking  glacier  remnants,  the 
largest  about  three  miles  in  length.  We  find  that,  to 
the  north  of  California,  groups  of  active  glaciers  still 
exist  on  all  the  highest  mountains  —  Mounts  Jeifer- 
son,  Adams,  Saint  Helens,  Hood,  Rainier,  Baker,  and 
others.  Of  these  Mount  Rainier  is  the  highest  and 
iciest.  Its  summit  is  fairly  capped  with  ice,  and  eight 
glaciers,  from  seven  to  fifteen  miles  long,  radiate  from 
it  as  a  center  and  form  the  sources  of  the  principal 
streams.  The  lowest  descends  to  about  thirty-five 
hundred  feet  above  sea  level,  pouring  a  stream  opaque 
with  glacial  mud  into  the  head  of  Puget  Sound. 

On  through  British  Columbia  and  southeastern 
Alaska  the  broad  sustained  mountain  chain  extend- 
ing along  the  coast  is  generally  glacier-bearing.  The 
upper  branches  of  nearly  every  one  of  the  main 
canons  are  occupied  by  glaciers,  which  gradually  in- 
crease in  size  and  descend  lower  until  the  lofty  region 
between  Mount  Fair  weather  and  Mount  St.  Elias  is 
reached,  where  a  considerable  number  discharge  into 
the  waters  of  the  ocean. 

This  is  the  region  of  greatest  glacial  abundance  on 
the  continent.  To  the  northward  from  here  the  gla- 
ciers gradually  diminish  in  size  and  depth  and  melt 
at  higher  levels  until  the  latitude  of  about  62°  is 
reached,  beyond  which  few,  if  any,  glaciers  remain  in 

[  237  ] 


Appendix 


existence,  the  ground  being  comparatively  low  and 
the  annual  snowfall  light. 

Between  latitude  56*^  and  60*^  there  are  probably 
more  than  five  thousand  glaciers,  great  and  small, 
hundreds  of  the  largest  size,  descending  through  the 
forests  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea,  though,  as  far 
as  I  know  after  a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  the 
region,  not  more  than  twenty-five  discharge  into 
the  sea. 

All  the  long,  high-walled  fiords  into  which  these 
great  glaciers  of  the  first  class  flow  are  of  course 
crowded  with  icebergs  of  every  conceivable  form, 
which  are  detached  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes.  But 
these  are  small  as  compared  with  those  of  Greenland, 
and  only  a  few  escape  from  the  intricate  labyrinth  of 
channels,  with  which  this  portion  of  the  coast  is 
fringed,  into  the  open  sea.  Nearly  all  of  them  are 
washed  and  drifted  back  and  forth  in  the  fiords  by 
wind  and  tide  until  finally  melted  by  sunshine  and 
the  copious  warm  rains  of  summer. 

The  southmost  of  the  glaciers  that  reach  the  sea 
occupies  a  narrow  fiord  about  twenty  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  the  mouth  of  the  Stikine  River,  in  lati- 
tude 56^  50'.  It  is  called  '*Hutli"i  by  the  natives, 
from  the  noise  made  by  the  icebergs  in  rising  and 
falling  from  the  inflowing  glacier.  About  one  degree 
farther  north  there  are  four  of  these  complete  glaciers 
at  the  heads  of  branches  of  Holkham  Bay,  at  the  head 
of  Taku  Inlet  one,  and  at  the  head  and  around  the 
sides  of  a  bay  ^  trending  in  a  general  northerly  direc- 

*  Now  known  as  Le  Conte  Glacier;  also  the  Bay  into  which  it  dis- 
charges. Both  were  so  named  in  1887  by  Lieutenant-Commander  Charles 
M.  Thomas,  U.S.N. ,  presumably  in  honor  of  Joseph  Le  Conte,  the  well- 
known  California  geologist.  "Hutli"  is  the  Tlingit  Indian  name  for  the 
mythical  bird  which  produces  thunder  by  the  flapping  of  its  wings.  The 
word,  therefore,  means  "The  Thunderer." 

*  Now  known  as  Glacier  Bay. 

( 238  ] 


Appendix 


tion  from  Cross  Sound,  first  explored  by  myself  in 
1879,  there  are  no  less  than  five  of  these  complete 
glaciers  reaching  tide-water,  the  largest  of  which,  the 
Muir,  is  of  colossal  size,  having  upwards  of  two  hun- 
dred tributaries  and  a  width  of  trunk  below  the  con- 
fluence of  the  main  tributaries  of  three  to  twenty-five 
miles.  Between  the  west  side  of  this  icy  bay  and  the 
ocean  all  the  ground,  high  and  low,  with  the  exception 
of  the  summits  of  the  mountain  peaks,  is  covered 
by  a  mantle  of  ice  from  one  to  three  thousand  feet 
thick,  which  discharges  to  the  eastward  and  west- 
ward through  many  distinct  mouths. 

This  ice-sheet,  together  with  the  multitude  of  dis- 
tinct glaciers  that  load  the  lofty  mountains  of  the 
coast,  evidently  once  formed  part  of  one  grand,  con- 
tinuous ice-sheet  that  flowed  over  all  the  region  here- 
abouts, extending  southward  as  far  as  the  Straits  of 
Juan  de  Fuca,  for  all  the  islands  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago,  great  and  small,  as  well  as  the  headlands 
and  promontories  of  the  mainland,  are  seen  to  have 
forms  of  greatest  strength  with  reference  to  the  ac- 
tion of  a  vast  press  of  oversweeping  ice,  and  their 
surfaces  have  a  smooth,  rounded,  over-rubbed  ap- 
pearance, generally  free  from  angles.  The  canals, 
channels,  straits,  passages,  sounds,  etc.,  between  the 
islands  —  a  marvelous  labyrinth  —  manifest  in  their 
forms  and  trends  and  general  characteristics  the  same 
subordination  to  the  grinding  action  of  a  continuous 
ice-sheet,  and  they  differ  from  the  islands,  as  to  their 
origin,  only  in  being  portions  of  the  general  pre- 
glacial  margin  of  the  continent,  more  deeply  eroded, 
and,  therefore,  covered  with  the  ocean  waters,  which 
flowed  into  them  as  the  ice  was  melted  out  of  them. 

That  the  dominion  of  the  sea  is  being  extended  over 
the  land  by  the  wearing  away  of  its  shores  is  well 
known.  But  in  these  northern  regions  the  coast  rocks 

I  239  ] 


Appendix 


have  been  so  short  a  time  exposed  to  wave-action 
that  they  are  but  little  wasted  as  yet,  the  extension  of 
the  sea  affected  by  its  own  action  in  post-glacial  time 
in  this  region  being  probably  less  than  the  millionth 
part  of  that  affected  by  glacial  action  during  the  last 
glacial  period. 

Traces  of  the  ancient  glaciers  made  during  the 
period  of  greater  extension  abound  on  the  California 
Sierra  as  far  south  as  latitude  36^.  Even  the  most 
evanescent  of  them,  the  polished  surfaces,  are  still 
found,  in  a  marvelously  perfect  state  of  preservation, 
on  the  upper  half  of  the  middle  portion  of  the  range. 
They  occur  in  irregular  patches,  some  of  which  are 
several  acres  in  extent,  and,  though  they  have  been 
subjected  to  the  weather  with  all  its  storms  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  their  mechanical  excellence  is  such 
that  they  reflect  the  sunbeams  like  glass,  and  attract 
the  attention  of  every  observer. 

The  most  perfect  of  these  shining  pavements  lie  at 
an  elevation  of  about  seven  to  eight  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  where  the  rock  is  close- 
grained,  siliceous  granite.  Small  fading  patches  may 
be  found  at  from  three  to  five  thousand  feet  elevation 
on  the  driest  and  most  enduring  portions  of  vertical 
walls,  where  there  is  protection  from  the  drip  and 
friction  of  water;  also,  on  compact  swelling  bosses 
partially  protected  by  a  covering  of  boulders. 

On  the  north  half  of  the  Sierra  the  striated  and  pol- 
ished surfaces  are  rarely  found,  not  only  because  this 
portion  of  the  chain  is  lower,  but  on  account  of  the 
surface  rocks  being  chiefly  porous  lavas  subject  to 
rapid  waste.  The  moraines,  also,  though  well  pre- 
served on  the  south  half  of  the  range,  seem  to  be 
nearly  wanting  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
north  half,  but  the  material  of  which  they  were  com- 
posed is  found  in  abundance,  scattered  and  disin- 

[  240  ] 


Appendix 


tegrated,  until  its  glacial  origin  is  not  obvious  to  the 
unskilled  observer. 

A  similar  blurred  condition  of  the  superficial  rec- 
ords obtains  throughout  most  of  Oregon,  Washing- 
ton, British  Columbia,  and  Alaska,  due  in  great  part 
to  the  action  of  excessive  moisture.  Even  in  south- 
eastern Alaska,  where  the  most  extensive  glaciers  still 
exist,  the  more  evanescent  of  the  traces  of  their  for- 
mer greater  extension,  though  comparatively  recent, 
are  more  obscure  than  those  of  the  ancient  glaciers  of 
California,  where  the  climate  is  drier  and  the  rocks 
more  resisting.  We  are  prepared,  therefore,  to  find 
the  finer  lines  of  the  glacial  record  dim  or  obliterated 
altogether  in  the  Arctic  regions,  where  the  ground  is 
mostly  low  and  the  action  of  frost  and  moisture 
specially  destructive. 

The  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  sweeps  westward  in  a 
regular  curve,  about  a  thousand  miles  long,  from  the 
Alaska  Peninsula  toward  Kamchatka,  nearly  uniting 
the  American  and  Asiatic  continents.  A  very  short 
geological  time  ago,  just  before  the  coming  on  of  the 
glacial  winter,  the  union  of  the  two  continents  was 
probably  complete.  The  entire  chain  appears  to  be 
simply  a  degraded  portion  of  the  North  Pacific  pre- 
glacial  coast  mountains,  with  its  foot-hills  and  lowest 
portions  of  the  connecting  ridges  between  the  peaks 
a  few  feet  under  water,  the  submerged  ridges  forming 
the  passes  between  the  islands  as  they  exist  today, 
while  the  broad  plain  to  the  north  of  the  chain  is  now 
covered  by  the  shallow  waters  of  Bering  Sea. 

Now  the  evidence  seems  everywhere  complete  that 
this  segregating  degradation  has  been  effected  almost 
wholly  by  glacial  action.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  it  is 
held  by  most  observers  who  have  made  brief  visits  to 
different  portions  of  the  chain  that  each  island  is  a 
distinct  volcanic  upheaval,  but  little  changed  since 

[  241  ] 


Appendix 


the  period  of  emergence  from  the  sea,  an  impression 
made  no  doubt  by  the  volcanic  character  of  most  of 
the  rocks,  ancient  and  recent,  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed, and  by  the  many  extinct  or  feebly  active  vol- 
canoes occurring  here  and  there  along  the  summits 
of  the  highest  masses.  But,  on  the  contrary,  all  the 
evidence  we  have  seen  goes  to  show  that  the  amount 
of  glacial  denudation  these  rocks  have  undergone  is 
very  great,  so  great  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
recent  craters,  almost  every  existing  feature  is  dis- 
tinctly glacial.  The  comparatively  featureless  pre- 
glacial  rocks  have  been  heavily  sculptured  and  fash- 
ioned into  the  endless  variety  they  now  present  of 
Deak  and  ridge,  valley  and  fiord  and  clustering  islets, 
larmoniously  correlated  in  accordance  with  glacial 
aw. 

On  Mount  Makushin,^  whose  summit  reaches  an 
elevation  of  about  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
several  small  glaciers  still  exist,  while  others  yet 
smaller  may  be  hidden  in  the  basins  of  other  moun- 
tains not  yet  explored.  The  summit  of  Makushin,  at 
the  time  my  observations  were  made,  was  capped 
with  heavy  clouds,  and  from  beneath  these  the  gla- 
ciers were  seen  descending  imposingly  into  the  open 
sunshine  to  within  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  feet 
of  the  sea  level,  the  largest  perhaps  about  six  miles  in 
length.  After  the  clouds  cleared  away  the  summit  was 
seen  to  be  heavily  capped  with  ice,  leaving  only  the 
crumbling  edges  of  the  dividing  ridges  and  subor- 
dinate peaks  free.  The  lower  slopes  of  the  mountain 
and  the  wide  valleys  proceeding  from  the  glaciers 
present  testimony  of  every  kind  to  show  that  these 

*  Muir  probably  adopted  current  estimates  of  the  altitude  of  this 
volcano.  Gannett's  Altitudes  in  Alaska  (1900)  gives  the  elevation  as  5474 
feet,  and  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Map,  No.  8860 
(1916),  as  5691  feet. 

[  242   ] 


wmmr  ? 


KING  ISLAND 


GRANITE   ROCKS  ON   THE   SOUTH   SIDE   OF   SAINT   LAWRENCE 

ISLAND,   SHOWING   EFFECTS  OF   OVERSWEEPING  ACTION 

OF  ICE-SHEET 


Appendix 


glaciers  now  lingering  on  the  summit  once  flowed 
directly  into  the  sea.  The  adjacent  mountains, 
though  now  mostly  free  from  ice,  are  covered  with 
glacial  markings,  extending  over  all  the  low  grounds 
about  their  bases  and  the  shores  of  the  fiords,  and 
over  many  of  the  rocks  now  under  water.  But  be- 
sides this  evidence  of  recent  local  glacial  abundance, 
we  find  traces  of  far  grander  glacial  conditions  on  the 
heavily  abraded  rocks  along  the  shores  of  the  passes 
separating  the  islands,  and  also  in  the  low  wide  val- 
leys extending  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  passes 
across  the  islands,  indicating  the  movement  of  a  vast 
ice-sheet  from  the  north  over  the  ground  now  covered 
by  Bering  Sea. 

The  amount  of  degradation  this  island  region  has 
undergone  is  only  partially  manifested  by  the  crum- 
bling, sharpened  condition  of  the  ridges  and  peaks, 
the  abraded  surfaces  that  have  been  overswept,  and 
by  the  extent  of  the  valleys  and  fiords,  and  the  gaps 
between  the  mountains  and  islands. 

That  these  valleys,  fiords,  forges,  and  gaps,  great 
and  small,  like  those  of  the  Sierra,  are  not  a  result  of 
local  subsidences  and  upheavals,  but  of  the  removal 
of  the  material  that  once  filled  them,  is  shown  by  the 
broken  condition  and  the  similarity  of  the  physical 
structure  and  composition  of  their  contiguous  sides, 
just  as  the  correspondence  between  the  tiers  of  mas- 
onry on  either  side  of  a  broken  gap  in  a  wall  shows 
that  the  missing  blocks  required  to  fill  it  up  have  been 
removed. 

The  chief  agents  of  erosion  and  transportation  are 
water  and  ice,  each  being  regarded  as  the  more  influ- 
ential by  different  observers,  though  the  phenomena 
to  which  they  give  rise  are  widely  diff'erent.  All  geol- 
ogists recognize  the  fact  that  glaciers  wear  away  the 
rocks  over  which  they  move,  but  great  vagueness 

[  243  ] 


Appendix 


prevails  as  to  the  size  of  the  fragments  of  erosion,  and 
the  way  they  are  detached  and  removed ;  and  if  pos- 
sible still  greater  vagueness  prevails  as  to  the  forms 
and  characteristics  in  general  of  the  mountains,  hills, 
rocks,  valleys,  etc.,  resulting  from  this  erosion. 

Towards  the  end  of  summer,  when  the  snow  is 
melted  from  the  lower  portions  of  the  glaciers,  par- 
ticles of  dust  and  sand  may  be  seen  scattered  over 
their  surfaces,  together  with  angular  masses  of  rocks, 
derived  from  the  shattered  storm-beaten  cliffs  above 
their  fountains.  The  separation  of  these  masses, 
which  vary  greatly  in  size,  is  due  only  in  part  to  the 
action  of  the  glacier,  though  they  are  all  transported 
on Jts  surface  like  floating  drift  on  a  river,  and  de- 
posited together  in  moraines.  The  winds  supply  a 
portionjof  the  sand  and  dust,  some  of  the  larger  frag- 
ments are  set  free  by  the  action  of  frost,  rains,  and 
general  weathering  agents,  considerable  quantities 
are  swept -down  in  avalanches  of  snow  where  the  in- 
clination of  the  slopes  is  favorable  to  their  action, 
and  shaken  down  by  earthquake  shocks,  while  the 
glacier^itself  plays  an  important  part  in  the  produc- 
tion of  these  superficial  effects  by  undermining  the 
cliffs  from  whence  the  fragments  fall. 

But  in  all  moraines  boulders  and  small  dust  par- 
ticles may  be  recognized  that  have  not  been  thus 
derived  from  the  weathered  cliffs  and  dividing  ridges 
projecting  above  the  glaciers,  but  from  the  rocks  past 
which  and  over  which  the  glaciers  flow.  The  streams 
which  drain  glaciers  are  always  turbid  with  finely 
ground  mud  particles  worn  off  the  bed-rocks  by  a 
sliding  motion,  accompanied  by  great  pressure,  giving 
rise  to  polished  surfaces,  and  keeping  up  a  waste  that 
never  for  a  moment  ceases  while  the  glacier  exists; 
and  besides  these  small  particles  boulders  are  found 
that^may  be  traced  to  their  origin  in  the  bottoms  or 

I  244  ] 


Appendix 


sides  of  the'channels.  Accordingly,  an  abrupt  transi- 
tion is 'discovered"  f rom  the  polished  and  plain  por- 
tions of  the  channels  to  the  more  or  less  angular  and 
fractured  portions,  showing  that  glaciers  degrade  the 
rocks  over  which  they  pass  in  at  least  two  different 
ways,  by  grinding  them  into  mud,  and  by  crushing, 
breaking,  and  splitting  them  into  a  coarse  detritus  of 
chips  and  boulders,  the  forms  and  sizes  of  which  are 
in  great  part  determined  by  the  divisional  planes  the 
rocks  possess,  and  the  intensity  and  direction  of  ap- 
plication of  the  force  brought  to  bear  on  them.  The 
quantity  of  this  coarser  material  remaining  in  the 
channels  along  the  lines  of  dispersal,  and  the  probable 
rate  of  movement  of  the  glaciers  that  quarried  and 
transported  it,  form  data  from  which  some  approxi- 
mation to  the  rate  of  this  method  !of  degradation 
may  be  reached. 

The  amount  of  influence  exerted  on  the  Aleutian 
region  by  running  water  in  its  various  forms,  and  by 
the  winds,  avalanches,  and  the  atmosphere  in  de- 
grading and  fashioning  the  surface  subsequent  to 
the  melting  of  the  ice,  is  as  yet  scarcely  more  appre- 
ciable than  it  is  in  the  upper  middle  portion  of  the 
Sierra;  for,  besides  being  much  feebler  in  their  action, 
the  time  during  which  the  region  has  been  exposed  to 
their  influence  is  comparatively  short. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  quantity  of  material  quar- 
ried and  carried  away  by  the  force  of  ice,  in  the  pro- 
cess of  bringing  the  region  into  its  present  condition, 
can  hardly  be  overestimated;  for,  with  the  exception 
of  the  recent  volcanic  cones,  almost  every  noticeable 
feature,  great  and  small,  has  evidently  been  ground 
down  into  the  form  of  greatest  strength  in  relation 
to  the  stress  of  oversweeping  floods  of  ice.  And  that 
these  present  features  are  not  the  pre-glacial  features 
merely  smoothed  and  polished  and  otherwise  super- 

[  245  ] 


Appendix 


ficially  altered,  but  an  entirely  new  set  sculptured 
from'a  surface  comparatively  featureless,  is  manifested 
by  the  relationship  existing  between  the  spaces  that 
separate  them  and  the  glacier  fountains.  The  greater 
the  valley  or  hollow  of  any  sort,  the  greater  the  snow- 
collecting  basin  above  it  whence  flowed  the  ice  that 
created  it,  not  a  fiord  or  valley  being  found  here  or  on 
any  portion  of  the  Pacific  coast  that  does  not  conduct 
to  fountains  of  vanished  or  residual  glaciers  corre- 
sponding with  it  in  size  and  position  as  cause  and 
effect. 

And,  furthermore,  that  the  courses  of  the  present 
valleys  were  not  determined  by  the  streams  of  water 
now  occupying  them,  nor  by  pre-glacial  streams,  but 
by  the  glaciers  of  the  last  or  of  some  former  glacial 
period,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  directions  of  the 
trends  of  all  these  valleys,  however  variable,  are  re- 
sultants of  the  forces  of  the  main  trunk  glaciers  that 
filled  them  and  their  inflowing  tributary  glaciers,  the 
wriggling  fortuitous  trends  of  valleys  formed  by  the 
action  of  water  being  essentially  different  from  those 
formed  by  ice;  and  therefore  not  liable  to  be  con- 
founded with  them.  Neither  can  we  suppose  pre-ex- 
isting fissures  or  local  subsidences  to  have  exercised 
any  primary  determining  influence,  there  being  no 
conceivable  coincidence  between  the  trends  of  fissures 
and  subsidences  and  the  specific  trends  of  ice-created 
valleys  and  basins  in  general,  nor  between  the  posi- 
tion and  direction  of  extension  of  these  hypothetical 
fissures,  subsidences,  and  foldings  and  the  positions 
of  ice-fountains. 

The  Pribilof  Islands,  St.  Paul,  St.  George,  Walrus, 
and  Otter,  appear  in  general  views  from  the  sea  as 
mere  storm-beaten  remnants  of  a  once  continuous 
land,  wasted  into  bluffs  around  their  shores  by  the 
action  of  the  waves,  all  their  upper  surfaces  being 

[246) 


VOLCANIC   CONES  ON   SAINT  LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


BED  OF   SMALL   RESIDUAL  GLACIER  ON   SAINT   LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


HERALD   ISLAND 


Appendix 


planed  down  by  a  heavy  oversweeping  ice-sheet, 
slightly  roughened  here  and  there  with  low  ridges  and 
hillocks  that  alternate  with  shallow  valleys.  None 
of  their  features,  as  far  as  I  could  discover  without 
opportunity  for  close  observation,  showed  any  trace 
of  local  glaciation  or  of  volcanic  action  subsequent  to 
the  period  of  universal  glaciation. 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  largest  in  Bering  Sea,  is 
situated  at  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  off  the  mouths  of  the  Yukon,  and  forty 
miles  from  the  nearest  point  on  the  coast  of  Siberia. 
It  is  about  a  hundred  miles  long  from  east  to  west, 
fifteen  miles  in  average  width,  and  is  chiefly  com- 
posed of  various  kinds  of  granite,  slate,  and  lava. 

The  highest  portion  along  the  middle  is  diversified 
with  groups  of  volcanic  cones,  some  of  which  are 
of  considerable  size  and  clearly  post-glacial  in  age, 
presenting  well-defined  craters  and  regular  slopes 
down  to  the  base,  though  I  saw  no  evidence  of  their 
having  poured  forth  extensive  streams  of  molten  lava 
over  the  adjacent  rocks  since  the  close  of  the  glacial 
period ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  ground  occupied 
by  the  cones,  all  the  surface  is  marked  with  glacial 
inscriptions  of  the  most  telling  kind  —  moraines, 
erratic  boulders,  roches  moutonnees,  in  great  abund- 
ance and  variety  as  to  size,  and  alternating  ridges  and 
valleys  with  wide  U-shaped  cross-sections,  and  with 
nearly  parallel  trends  across  the  island  in  a  general 
north  to  south  direction,  some  of  them  extending 
from  shore  to  shore,  and  all  showing  subordination 
to  the  grinding,  furrowing  action  of  a  broad  over- 
sweeping  ice-sheet. 

Some  of  the  widest  gap-like  valleys  have  been 
eroded  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea,  indicating  that  if 
the  ice  action  had  gone  on  much  longer  the  present 
single  island  would  have  been  eroded  into  a  group  of 

I  H7  ] 


Appendix 


small  ones;  or  the  entire  mass  of  the  island  would 
have  been  degraded  beneath  the  sea  level,  obliterating 
it  from  the  landscape  to  be  in  part  restored  perhaps 
by.  the  antagonistic  elevating  volcanic  action.  The 
action  of  local  glaciers  has  been  comparatively  light 
hereabouts,  not  enough  greatly  to  obscure  or  in- 
terrupt the  overmastering  effects  of  the  ice-sheet, 
though  they  have  given  marked  character  to  the 
sculpture  of  some  of  the  higher  portions  of  the  island. 

The  two  Diomede  Islands  and  Fairway  Rock  are 
mostly  residual  masses  of  granite  brought  into  relief 
and  separated  from  one  another  and  from  the  gen- 
eral mass  of  the  continent,  by  the  action  of  ice  in 
removing  the  missing  material,  while  the  islands 
remain  because  of  superior  resistance  offered  to  the 
universal  degrading  force.  That  they  are  remnants 
of  a  once  continuous  land  now  separated  by  Bering 
Strait  is  indicated  by  the  relative  condition  of  the 
sides  of  the  islands  and  of  the  contiguous  shoulders  of 
the  continents,  East  Cape  and  Cape  Prince  of  Wales, 
while  the  general  configuration  of  the  islands  shows 
that  they  have  been  subjected  to  a  glaciation  of  the 
most  comprehensive  kind,  leaving  them  as  rockes 
moutonnees  on  a  grand  scale. 

I  discovered  traces  of  local  glaciation  on  the  largest 
of  the  three,  but  the  effects  produced  by  this  cause  are 
comparatively  slight,  while  the  action  of  excessive 
moisture  in  the  form  of  almost  constant  fogs  and 
rains  throughout  the  summer  months,  combined  with 
frost  and  thaw,  has  effected  a  considerable  amount  of 
denudation,  manifested  by  groups  of  crumbling  pin- 
nacles occurring  here  and  there  on  the  summits. 

Sledge,  King,  and  Herald  Islands  are  evidently  of 
similar  origin,  displaying  the  same  glacial  traces,  and 
varying  chiefly  in  the  amount  of  post-glacial  waste 
they  have  suffered,  and  in  the  consequent  degree  of 

[  248  ] 


|||i!iiiiii'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[miiiii| 


IlliiiUM 


Appendix 


clearness  of  the  testimony  they  present.  During  our 
visit  to  Herald  Island  an  exceptionally  favorable 
opportunity  offered  as  to  the  time  of  year,  state  of  the 
weather,  etc.,  for  observation. 

Kellett,  who  first  discovered  this  island  and  landed 
on  it  under  adverse  circumstances,  describes  it  as  an 
inaccessible  rock.  The  sides  are  indeed  precipitous  in 
the  main,  but  mountaineers  would  find  many  slopes 
and  gullies  by  which  the  summit  could  be  easily 
attained.  We  landed  on  the  southwest  side,  opposite 
the  mouth  of  a  small  valley,  the  bed  of  a  vanished 
glacier.  A  short  gully  which  conducts  from  the  water's 
edge  to  the  mouth  of  the  valley  proper  is  very  steep, 
and  at  the  time  of  our  visit  was  blocked  with  com- 
pacted snow,  in  which  steps  had  to  be  cut,  but  beyond 
this  no  difiiculty  was  encountered,  the  ice  having 
graded  a  fine  broad  way  to  the  summit.  Thence  fol- 
lowing the  highest  ground  nearly  to  the  northwestern 
extremity,  we  obtained  views  of  most  of  the  surface. 
The  highest  point  is  about  twelve  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  northwest 
end  of  the  island,  and  four  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
southeast.  This  makes  the  island  about  six  miles 
long,  the  average  width  being  about  two  miles. 

Near  the  middle  of  the  island  there  is  a  low  gap, 
where  the  width  is  only  about  half  a  mile,  and  the 
height  of  the  summit  of  this  portion  of  the  water-shed 
between  the  two  sides  is  only  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  The  entire  island  as  far  as  seen  is  a  mass  of 
granite,  with  the  exception  of  a  patch  of  metamorphic 
slates  near  the  middle,  which  no  doubt  owes  its  exist- 
ence, with  so  considerable  a  height,  to  the  superior 
resistance  it  offered  to  the  degrading  action  of  ice, 
traces  of  which  are  presented  in  the  general  moutonnee 
form  of  the  island,  and  in  the  smooth  parallel  ridges 
and  valleys  trending  north  and  south.    These  evi- 

[  249  ] 


Appendix 


dently  have  not  been  determined  as  to  size,  form, 
position,  or  the  direction  of  their  trends  by  subsid- 
ences, upheavals,  foldings,  or  any  structural  pecu- 
liarity of  the  rocks  in  which  they  have  been  eroded, 
but  simply  by  the  mechanical  force  of  an  oversweep- 
ing  ice-sheet. 

The  effects  of  local  glaciers  are  seen  in  short  valleys 
of  considerable  depth  as  compared  with  the  area  from 
which  their  fountain  snows  were  derived.  We  noticed 
four  of  these  valleys  that  had  been  occupied  by  resid- 
ual glaciers;  and  on  the  hardest  and  most  enduring 
of  the  upswelling  rock  bosses  several  patches  of  the 
ancient  scored  and  polished  surface  were  discovered, 
still  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  That  these  local 
glaciers  have  but  recently  vanished  is  indicated  by  the 
raw  appearance  of  the  surface  of  their  beds,  while 
one  small  glacier  remnant  occupying  a  sheltered  hol- 
low and  possessing  a  well-characterized  terminal  mo- 
raine seems  to  be  still  feebly  active  in  the  last  stage  of 
decadence.  This  small  granite  island,  standing  soli- 
tary in  the  Polar  Ocean,  we  regard  as  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  significant  of  the  monuments  of  geo- 
graphical change  effected  by  general  glaciation. 

Our  stay  on  Wrangell  Land  was  too  short  to  admit 
of  more  than  a  hasty  examination  of  a  few  square 
miles  of  surface  near  the  eastern  extremity.  The 
rock  here  is  a  close-grained  clay  slate,  cleaving  freely 
into  thin  flakes,  with  occasional  compact  meta- 
morphic  masses  rising  above  the  general  surface  or 
forming  cliffs  along  the  shore.  The  soil  about  the 
banks  of  a  river  of  considerable  size,  that  enters  the 
ocean  here,  has  evidently  been  derived  in  the  main 
from  the  underlying  slates,  indicating  a  rapid  weather- 
ing of  the  surface.  A  few  small  deposits  of  moraine 
material  were  discovered  containing  traveled  bould- 
ers of  quartz  and  granite,  no  doubt  from  the  moun- 

[  250  ] 


OVERSWEPT  GLACIAL  VALLEYS  AND   RIDGES  ON   SAINT 
LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


BED  OF   LOCAL   GLACIER,   SAINT  LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


Appendix 


tains  in  which  the  river  takes  its  rise,  while  the  valley 
now  occupied  by  the  river  manifests  its  glacial  origin 
in  its  form  and  trends,  the  small  portion  in  the  middle 
eroded  by  the  river  itself  being  clearly  distinguished 
by  its  abrupt  angular  sides,  which  contrast  sharply 
with  the  glacial  outlines. 

In  general  views  obtained  in  sailing  along  its 
southern  coast  the  phenomena  presented  seemed 
essentially  the  same  as  have  been  described  elsewhere. 
—  hills,  valleys,  and  sculptured  peaks,  testifying  in 
all  their  main  trends  and  contours  to  the  action  of  ice. 
A  range  of  mountains  of  moderate  height  extends 
from  one  extremity  of  the  island  to  the  other,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  sixty-five  miles,  the  highest  point  as 
measured  by  Lieutenant  Berry  being  twenty-five 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

All  the  coast  region  of  Siberia  that  came  under  our 
observation,  from  the  Gulf  of  Anadir  to  North  Cape, 
presents  traces  in  great  abundance  and  variety  of  uni- 
versal as  well  as  local  glaciation.  Between  Plover  and 
St.  Lawrence  Bays,  where  the  mountains  attain  their 
greatest  elevation  and  where  local  glaciation  has  been 
heaviest,  the  coast  is  lacerated  with  deep  fiords,  on 
the  lofty  granite  walls  of  which  the  glacial  records  are 
in  many  places  well  preserved,  and  offer  evidence  that 
could  hardly  be  overlooked  by  the  most  careless 
observer. 

Our  first  general  views  of  this  region  were  obtained 
on  June  7,  when  it  was  yet  winter,  and  the  landscape 
was  covered  with  snow  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
After  several  days  of  storm  the  clouds  lifted,  exposing 
the  heavily  abraded  fronts  of  outstanding  cliffs ;  then 
the  smooth  overswept  ridges  and  slopes  at  the  base  of 
the  mountains  came  in  sight,  and  one  angular  peak 
after  another,  until  a  continuous  range  forty  to  fifty 
miles  long  could  be  seen  from  one  standpoint.  Many 

[251 1 


Appendix 


of  the  peaks  are  fluted  with  the  narrow  channels  of 
avalanches,  and  hollowed  with  nhe  amphitheaters  of 
great  beauty  of  form,  while  long  withdrawing  fiords 
and  valleys  may  be  traced  back  into  the  recesses  of 
the  highest  groups,  once  the  beds  of  glaciers  that 
flowed  in  imposing  ranks  to  the  sea. 

Plover  Bay,  which  I  examined  in  detail,  may  be 
taken  as  a  good  representative  of  the  fiords  of  this 
portion  of  the  coast.  The  walls  rise  to  an  average 
height  of  about  two  thousand  feet,  and  present  a 
severely  desolate  and  bedraggled  appearance,  owing 
to  the  crumbling  condition  of  the  rocks,  which  in  most 
places  are  being  rapidly  disintegrated,  loading  the 
slopes  with  loose,  shifting  detritus  whenever  the  an- 
gle is  low  enough  to  allow  it  to  come  to  rest.  When 
examined  closely,  however,  this  loose  material  is 
found  to  be  of  no  great  depth.  The  solid  rock  comes 
to  the  surface  in  many  places,  and  'on  the  most  en- 
during portions  rounded  glaciated  surfaces  are  still 
found  grooved,  scratched,  and  polished  in  small 
patches  from  the  sea-level  up  to  a  height  of  a  thousand 
feet  or  more. 

Large  taluses  with  their  bases  under  the  water 
occur  on  both  sides  of  the  fiord  in  front  of  the  side 
canons  that  partially  separate  the  main  mountain 
masses  that  form  the  walls.  These  taluses  are  com- 
posed in  great  part  of  moraine  material,  brought  down 
by  avalanches  of  snow  from  the  terminal  moraines  of 
small  vanished  glaciers  that  lay  at  a  height  of  from 
one  to  five  thousand  feet,  in  recesses  where  the  snow 
accumulated  from  the  surrounding  slopes,  and  where 
sheltered  from  the  direct  action  of  the  sun  the  glaciers 
lingered  longest.  These  recent  moraines  are  formed 
of  several  concentric  masses  shoved  together,  showing 
that  the  glaciers  to  which  they  belonged  melted  and 
receded  gradually  with  slight  fluctuations  of  level 

[  252  ] 


Appendix 


and  rate  of  decadence,  in  accordance  with  conditions 
of  snow-fall,  temperature,  etc.,  like  those  of  lower 
latitudes. 

When  the  main  central  glacier  that  filled  this  fiord 
was  in  its  prime  as  a  distinct  glacier  it  measured 
about  thirty  miles  in  length  and  from  five  to  six  miles 
in  width,  and  was  from  two  to  three  thousand  feet  in 
depth.  It  then  had  at  least  five  main  tributaries, 
which,  as  the  trunk  melted,  became  independent 
glaciers ;  and,  again,  as  the  trunks  of  these  main  trib- 
utaries melted,  their  smaller  tributaries,  numbering 
about  seventy-five,  and  from  less  than  a  mile  to 
several  miles  in  length,  became  separate  glaciers 
and  lingered  probably  for  centuries  in  the  high,  cool 
fountains.  These  also,  as  far  as  we  have  seen,  have 
vanished,  though  possibly  some  wasting  remnant 
may  still  exist  in  the  highest  and  best-protected 
recesses  about  the  head  of  the  fiord. 

Along  the  coast,  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  to  the  eastward  and  southward  of  the  mouth  of 
Metchigme  Bay,  interesting  deposits  occur  of  roughly 
stratified  glacial  detritus  in  the  form  of  sand,  gravel 
and  boulders.  They  rise  from  the  shore  in  raw,  wave- 
washed  bluffs  about  forty  feet  high  and  extend  to  the 
base  of  the  mountains  as  a  gently  inclined  plain,  with 
a  width  in  some  places  of  two  or  three  miles.  Similar 
morainal  deposits  were  also  observed  on  the  American 
coast  at  Golofnin  Bay,  Kotzebue  Sound,  Cape  Prince 
of  Wales,  and  elsewhere.  At  Cape  Prince  of  Wales 
the  formation  rises  in  successive  well-defined  terraces. 

The  peninsula,  the  extremity  of  which  forms  East 
Cape,  trends  nearly  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the 
mainland,  and  consequently  occupies  a  telling  posi- 
tion with  reference  to  ice  moving  from  the  northward. 
I  was  therefore  eager  to  examine  it  to  see  what  tes- 
timony it  might  have  to  offer.  We  landed  during 

I  253  1 


Appendix 


favorable  weather  on  the  south  side  at  a  small 
Eskimo  village  built  on  a  rough  moraine,  and  pushed 
on  direct  to  the  summit  of  the  watershed,  from  which 
good  general  views  of  nearly  all  the  surface  of  the 
peninsula  were  obtained. 

The  dividing  ridge  along  the  high  eastern  portion 
is  traversed  by  a  telling  series  of  parallel  grooves  and 
small  valleys  trending  north  and  south  approximately, 
the  curves  on  the  north  commencing  nearly  at  the 
water's  edge,  while  the  south  side  is  more  or  less 
precipitous.  The  culminating  point  of  the  elevated 
eastern  portion  of  the  peninsula  is  about  twenty-five 
hundred  feet  high,  and  has  been  cut  from  the  main- 
land and  added  as  another  island  to  the  Diomede 
group,  the  wide  gap  of  low  ground  connecting  it 
with  the  adjacent  mountainous  portion  of  the  main- 
land being  only  a  few  feet  above  tide-water.  Out  in 
the  midst  of  this  low,  flat  region  smooth  upswelling 
roches  moutonnees  were  discovered  here  and  there  like 
groups  of  small  islands,  with  trends  and  contours  em- 
phatically glacial,  all  telling  the  action  of  a  universal 
abrading  ice-sheet  moving  southward. 

Hence  along  the  coast  to  Cape  North,  which  Is  the 
limit  of  our  observations  in  this  direction,  the  same 
class  of  ice  phenomena  was  discovered  —  moraine 
material,  washed  and  re-formed,  moutonnee  masses  of 
the  harder  rocks  standing  like  islands  in  the  low, 
mossy  tundra,  and  traveled  boulders  and  pebbles 
lying  stranded  on  the  summits  of  rocky  headlands. 

These  enduring  monuments  are  particularly  abun- 
dant and  significant  in  the  neighborhood  pi  Cape 
Wankarem,  where  the  granite  is  more  compact  and 
resisting  than  is  commonly  found  in  the  Arctic  regions 
we  have  visited,  and  consequently  has  longer  retained 
the  more  evanescent  of  the  glacial  markings.  Cape 
Wankarem  is  a  narrow,  flat-topped,  residual  mass  of 

[  254  I 


^  O 


Appendix 


this  enduring  granite,  on  the  summit  of  which  two 
patches  of  the  original  polished  surface  were  dis- 
covered that  still  retains  the  fine  striae  and  many 
erratic  boulders  of  slate,  quartz,  and  various  kinds  of 
lava,  which,  from  the  configuration  and  geographical 
position  of  the  cape  with  reference  to  the  surrounding 
region,  could  not  have  been  brought  to  their  present 
resting-places  by  any  local  glacier. 

Cape  Serdzekamen  is  another  of  these  residual 
island  masses,  brought  into  relief  by  general  glacial 
denudation,  manifesting  its  origin  in  every  feature, 
and  corroborating  the  testimony  given  at  Cape 
Wankarem  and  elsewhere  in  the  most  emphatic 
manner. 

All  the  sections  of  the  tundra  seen  either  on  the 
Siberian  or  Alaskan  coast  lead  towards  the  conclusion 
that  the  ground  is  glacial,  re-formed  under  the  action 
of  running  water  derived  in  broad,  shallow  currents 
from  the  melting,  receding  edge  of  the  ice-sheet,  and 
also  in  some  measure  from  ice  left  on  the  high  lands 
after  the  main  ice-sheet  had  been  withdrawn;  for  these 
low,  flat  deposits  difl'er  in  no  particular  of  form  or 
composition  that  we  have  been  able  to  detect  from 
those  still  in  process  of  formation  in  front  of  the  large 
receding  glaciers  of  southeastern  Alaska.  On  many  of 
the  so-called  "mud-flats"  extending  from  the  snouts 
of  glaciers  that  have  receded  a  few  miles  from  the 
shore,  mosses  and  lichens  and  other  kinds  of  tundra 
vegetation  are  being  gradually  acquired,  and  when 
thus  clothed  these  patches  of  tundra  are  not  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  extensive  deposits  about  the 
shores  of  the  Arctic  regions. 

The  phenomena  observed  on  the  American  coast 
from  St.  Michael  to  Point  Barrow  difl'er  in  no  essential 
particular  from  those  which  have  been  described  on 
the  opposite  shores  of  Siberia.  Moraines  more  or  less 

[  255  ] 


Appendix 


wasted,  and  re-formations  of  moraine  material,  smooth 
overswept  ridges  with  glacial  trends  and  the  corre- 
sponding valleys,  roches  moutonnees,  and  the  fountain 
amphitheaters  of  local  glaciers  were  observed  almost 
everywhere  on  the  mountainous  portions  of  the  coast, 
though  in  general  more  deeply  weathered,  owing 
mainly  to  the  occurrence  of  less  resisting  rocks,  lime- 
stones, sandstones,  porous  lavas,  etc. 

A  number  of  well-characterized  moraines  so  sit- 
uated with  reference  to  topographical  conditions  as  to 
have  escaped  destructive  washing  were  noticed  near 
Cape  Lisburne,  and  moraine  deposits  of  great  extent 
at  Kotzebue  Sound  and  Golofnin  Bay,  of  which  many 
fine  sections  were  exposed.  At  the  latter  locality, 
judging  from  the  comparatively  fresh  appearance  of 
the  rock  surfaces  and  deposits  around  the  head  of  the 
bay,  and  the  height  and  extent  of  the  ice-fountains, 
the  glacier  that  discharged  here  was  probably  the  last 
to  vanish  from  the  American  shore  of  Bering  Sea. 

As  to  the  thickness  attained  by  the  ice-sheet  over 
the  regions  that  we  have  been  examining  during  the 
period  of  greatest  glacial  development,  we  have  seen 
that  it  passed  heavily  over  the  islands  of  Bering  Sea 
and  the  adjacent  mountains  on  either  side,  especially 
at  East  Cape  and  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  at  a  height 
of  twenty-five  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  bottom 
of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait,  the  average  depth  of  water 
here  being  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  And 
though  the  lowest  portion  of  the  land  beneath  the  ice 
may  have  been  degraded  to  a  considerable  depth  sub- 
sequent to  the  time  when  these  highest  portions  were 
left  bare,  on  the  other  hand  the  level  of  the  ice  must 
have  been  considerably  higher  than  the  summits  over 
which  it  passed,  inasmuch  as  they  give  evidence  of 
having  been  heavily  abraded.  It  appears,  there- 
fore, that  the  thickness  of  the  general  northern  ice- 

[  256  ] 


Appendix 


sheet  throughout  a  considerable  portion  of  its  history- 
was  not  less  than  twenty-five  hundred  feet,  and 
probably  more,  over  the  northern  portion  of  the 
region  now  covered  by  Bering  Sea  and  part  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean. 

In  view  of  this  colossal  ice-flood  grinding  on 
throughout  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  of  the 
glacial  period,  the  excavation  of  the  shallow  basins 
of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait  and  the  Arctic  Ocean  must 
be  taken  as  only  a  small  part  of  the  erosion  eff'ected ; 
for  so  shallow  are  these  waters,  were  the  tallest 
sequoias  planted  on  the  bottom  where  soundings 
have  been  made,  their  tops  would  rise  in  most  places 
a  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  surface.  The  Plover 
Bay  glacier,  as  we  have  shown,  eroded  the  granite  in 
the  formation  of  its  channel  to  a  depth  of  not  less 
than  two  thousand  feet,  and  the  amount  of  erosion 
efl"ected  by  the  ice-sheet  was  probably  much  greater. 

It  appears,  therefore,  in  summing  up  the  results  of 
our  observations  along  the  North  Pacific  and  Arctic 
coasts :  — 

(i)  That  the  southernmost  glacier  lies  on  the 
Sierra  near  latitude  36^;  the  northernmost, 
with  perhaps  a  few  exceptions,  near  62°. 

(2)  That  the  region  of  greatest  glaciation  lies  be- 
tween 56^  and  61^,  where  the  mountains  are 
highest  and  the  snowfall  greatest. 

(3)  That  an  ice-sheet  flowed  from  the  Arctic  re- 
gions, from  beyond  the  end  of  the  continent, 
pursuing  a  general  southerly  direction,  and  dis- 
charged into  the  Pacific  Ocean  south  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands. 

(4)  That  of  this  continuous  ice-sheet,  extending 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  beyond  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  continent,  the  glaciers,  great 
and  small,  now  existing  are  the  remnants. 

[  257  ] 


Appendix 


(5)  That  the  basins  of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait  and  of 

the  adjacent  portion  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  are 

simply  those  portions  of  the  bed  of  the  ice-sheet 

which  were  eroded  to  a  moderate  depth  beneath 

the  level  of  the  sea,  and  over  which  the  ocean 

waters  were  gradually  extended  as  the  ice-sheet 

was  withdrawn,  thus  separating  the  continents 

of  Asia  and  America,  at  the  close  of  the  glacial 

period. 

We  are  now  better  prepared  to  read  the  changes 

that  have  taken  place  on  the  Sierra,  and  fortunately, 

as  we  have  already  seen,  nowhere  is  the  glacial  record 

clearer. 


^* 


II 

BOTANICAL  NOTES 

INTRODUCTORY 

THE  plants  named  in  the  following  notes  were 
collected  at  many  localities  on  the  coasts  of 
Alaska  and  Siberia,  and  on  St.  Lawrence,  Wrangell, 
and  Herald  Islands,  between  about  latitude  54°  and 
71^  N.,  longitude  161°  and  178^  W.,  in  the  course  of 
short  excursions,  some  of  them  less  than  an  hour  in 
length.  Inasmuch  as  the  flora  of  the  arctic  and  sub- 
arctic regions  is  nearly  the  same  everywhere,  the  dis- 
covery of  many  species  new  to  science  was  not  to  be 
expected.  The  collection,  however,  will  no  doubt  be 
valuable  for  comparison  with  the  plants  of  other 
regions.  In  general  the  physiognomy  of  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  polar  regions  resembles  that  of  the  alpine 
valleys  of  the  temperate  zones;  so  much  so  that  the 
botanist  on  the  coast  of  Arctic  Siberia  or  America 
might  readily  fancy  himself  on  the  Sierra  Nevada  at 
a  height  of  ten  to  twelve  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
There  is  no  line  of  perpetual  snow  on  any  portion  of 
the  Arctic  regions  known  to  explorers.  The  snow  dis- 
appears every  summer,  not  only  from  the  low,  sandy 
shores  and  boggy  tundras,  but  also  from  the  tops  of 
the  mountains,  and  all  the  upper  slopes  and  valleys 
with  the  exception  of  small  patches  of  drifts  and 
avalanche-heaps  hardly  noticeable  in  general  views. 
But  though  nowhere  excessively  deep  or  permanent, 
the  snow-mantle  is  universal  during  winter,  and  the 
plants  are  solidly  frozen  and  buried  for  nearly  three 
fourths  of  the  year.  In  this  condition  they  enjoy  a 
sleep  and  rest   about   as   profound   as  death,  from 

I  259  ] 


Appendix 


which  they  awake  in  the  months  of  June  and  July  in 
vigorous  health,  and  speedily  reach  a  far  higher  de- 
velopment of  leaf  and  flower  and  fruit  than  is  generally 
supposed.  On  the  drier  banks  and  hills  about  Kotze- 
bue  Sound,  Cape  Thompson,  and  Cape  Lisburne, 
many  species  show  but  little  climatic  repression,  and 
during  the  long  summer  days  grow  tall  enough  to 
wave  in  the  wind,  and  unfold  flowers  in  as  rich  pro- 
fusion and  as  highly  colored  as  may  be  found  in 
regions  lying  a  thousand  miles  farther  south. 

UNALASKA 

To  the  botanist  approaching  any  portion  of  the 
Aleutian  chain  of  islands  from  the  southward  during 
the  winter  or  spring  months,  the  view  is  severely 
desolate  and  forbidding.  The  snow  comes  down  to 
the  water's  edge  in  solid  white,  interrupted  only  by 
dark,  outstanding  bluffs  with  faces  too  steep  for  snow 
to  lie  on,  and  by  the  backs  of  rounded  rocks  and  long, 
rugged  reefs  beaten  and  overswept  by  heavy  breakers 
rolling  in  from  the  Pacific,  while  throughout  nearly 
every  month  of  the  year  the  higher  mountains  are 
wrapped  in  gloomy,  dripping  storm-clouds. 

Nevertheless,  vegetation  here  is  remarkably  close 
and  luxuriant,  and  crowded  with  showy  bloom,  cover- 
ing almost  every  foot  of  the  ground  up  to  a  height 
of  about  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  —  the  harsh 
trachytic  rocks,  and  even  the  cindery  bases  of  the 
craters,  as  well  as  the  moraines  and  rough  soil-beds 
outspread  on  the  low  portions  of  the  short,  narrow 
valleys. 

On  the  twentieth  of  May  we  found  the  showy 
Geum  glaciale  already  in  flower,  also  an  arctostaphylos 
and  draba,  on  a  slope  facing  the  south,  near  the 
harbor  of  Unalaska.  The  willows,  too,  were  then  be- 
ginning to  put  forth  their  catkins,  while  a  multitude 

[  260  ] 


Appendix 


of  green  points  were  springing  up  in  sheltered  spots 
wherever  the  snow  had  vanished.  At  a  height  of  four 
or  five  hundred  feet,  however,  winter  was  still  un- 
broken, with  scarce  a  memory  of  the  rich  bloom  of 
summer. 

During  a  few  short  excursions  along  the  shores  of 
Unalaska  Harbor,  and  on  two  of  the  adjacent  moun- 
tains, towards  the  end  of  May  and  the  beginning  of 
October,  we  saw  about  fifty  species  of  flowering 
plants  —  empetrum,  vaccinium,  bryanthus,  pyrola, 
arctostaphylos,  ledum,  cassiope,  lupinus,  geranium, 
epilobium,  silene,  draba,  and  saxifraga,  being  the 
most  telling  and  characteristic  of  the  genera  repre- 
sented. Empetrum  nigrum^  a  bryanthus,  and  three 
species  of  vaccinium  make  a  grand  display  when  in 
flower,  and  show  their  massed  colors  at  a  considerable 
distance. 

Almost  the  entire  surface  of  the  valleys  and  hills 
and  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains  is  covered  with  a 
dense,  spoQgy  plush  of  lichens  and  mosses  similar  to 
that  which  covers  the  tundras  of  the  Arctic  regions, 
making  a  rich  green  mantle  on  which  the  showy, 
flowering  plants  are  strikingly  relieved,  though  these 
grow  far  more  luxuriantly  on  the  banks  of  the  streams 
where  the  drainage  is  less  interrupted.  Here  also  the 
ferns,  of  which  I  saw  three  species,  are  taller  and  more 
abundant,  some  of  them  arching  their  broad,  delicate 
fronds  over  one's  shoulders,  while  in  similar  situations 
the  tallest  of  the  five  grasses  that  were  seen  reaches 
a  height  of  nearly  six  feet,  and  forms  a  growth  close 
enough  for  the  farmer's  scythe. 

Not  a  single  tree  has  been  seen  on  any  of  the  islands 
of  the  chain  west  of  Kodiak,  excepting  a  few  spruces 
brought  from  Sitka  and  planted  at  Unalaska  by  the 
Russians  about  fifty  years  ago.  They  are  still  alive  in 
a  dwarfed  condition,  having  made  scarce  any  appreci- 

[  261  ] 


Appendix 


able  growth  since  they  were  planted.  These  facts  are 
the  more  remarkable,  since  in  southeastern  Alaska, 
lying  both  to  the  north  and  south  of  here,  and  on  the 
many  islands  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago,  as  well  as 
on  the  mainland,  forests  of  beautiful  conifers  flourish 
exuberantly  and  attain  noble  dimensions,  while  the 
climatic  conditions  generally  do  not  appear  to  differ 
greatly  from  those  that  obtain  on  these  treeless 
islands. 

Wherever  cattle  have  been  introduced  they  have 
prospered  and  grown  fat  on  the  abundance  of  rich 
nutritious  pasturage  to  be  found  almost  everywhere 
in  the  deep,  withdrawing  valleys  and  on  the  green 
slopes  of  the  hills  and  mountains,  but  the  wetness  of 
the  summer  months  will  always  prevent  the  making 
of  hay  in  any  considerable  quantities. 

The  agricultural  possibilities  of  these  islands  seem 
also  to  be  very  limited.  The  hardier  of  the  cereals  — 
rye,  barley,  and  oats  —  make  a  good,  vigorous  growth, 
and  head  out,  but  seldom  or  never  mature,  on  account 
of  insufficient  sunshine  and  overabundance  of  moist- 
ure in  the  form  of  long-continued,  drizzling  fogs  and 
rains.  Green  crops,  however,  as  potatoes,  turnips, 
cabbages,  beets,  and  most  other  common  garden 
vegetables,  thrive  wherever  the  ground^is  thoroughly 
drained  and  has  a  southerly  exposure. 

ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  as  far  as  our  observations  ex- 
tended, is  mostly  a  dreary  mass  of  granite  and  lava  of 
various  forms  and  colors,  roughened  with  volcanic 
cones,  covered  with  snow,  and  rigidly  bound  in 
ocean  ice  for  half  the  year.  Inasmuch  as  it  lies  broad- 
sidewise  to  the  direction  pursued  by  the  great  ice- 
sheet  that  recently  filled  Bering  Sea,  and  its  rocks 
offered  unequal  resistance  to  the  denuding  action  of 

[  262  ] 


Appendix 


the  ice,  the  island  is  traversed  by  numerous  ridges  and 
low,  gap-like  valleys  all  trending  in  the  same  general 
direction.  Some  of  the  lowest  of  these  transverse 
valleys  have  been  degraded  nearly  to  the  level  of  the 
sea,  showing  that  if  the  glaciation  to  which  the  island 
has  been  subjected  had  been  slightly  greater,  we 
should  have  found  several  islands  here  instead  of  one. 
At  the  time  of  our  first  visit,  May  28,  winter  still 
had  full  possession,  but  eleven  days  later  we  found 
the  dwarf  willows,  drabas,  erigerons,  and  saxifrages 
pushing  up  their  buds  and  leaves,  on  spots  bare  of 
snow,  with  wonderful  rapidity.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  spring  at  the  northwest  end  of  the  island.  On 
July  4  the  flora  seemed  to  have  reached  its  highest 
development.  The  bottoms  of  the  glacial  valleys  were 
in  many  places  covered  with  tall  grasses  and  carices 
evenly  planted  and  forming  meadows  of  considerable 
size,  while  the  drier  portions  and  the  sloping  grounds 
about  them  were  enlivened  with  gay,  highly  colored 
flowers  from  an  inch  to  nearly  two  feet  in  height,  such 
as  Aconitum  Napellus^  L.,  var.  delphinifolium^  Ser., 
Polemonium  cxruleum^  L.,  Papaver  nudicaule,  L., 
Draba  alpina,  L.,  and  Silene  acaulis,  L.,  in  large, 
closely  flowered  tufts,  as  well  as  andromeda,  ledum, 
linnsea,  cassiope,  and  several  species  of  vaccinium 
and  saxifraga. 

ST.  MICHAEL 

The  region  about  St.  Michael  is  a  magnificent 
tundra,  crowded  with  Arctic  lichens  and  mosses, 
which  here  develop  under  most  favorable  conditions. 
In  the  spongy  plush  formed  by  the  lower  plants,  in 
which  one  sinks  almost  knee-deep  at  every  step, 
there  is  a  sparse  growth  of  grasses,  carices,  and  rushes, 
tall  enough  to  wave  in  the  wind,  while  empetrum,  the 
dwarf  birch,  and  the  various  heathworts  flourish  here 

1 263  ] 


Appendix 


in  all  their  beauty  of  bright  leaves  and  flowers.  The 
moss  mantle  for  the  most  part  rests  on  a  stratum  of 
ice  that  never  melts  to  any  great  extent,  and  the  ice  on 
a  bed  rock  of  black  vesicular  lava.  Ridges  of  the  lava 
rise  here  and  there  above  the  general  level  in  rough 
masses,  affording  ground  for  plants  that  like  a  drier 
soil.  Numerous  hollows  and  watercourses  also  occur 
on  the  general  tundra,  whose  well-drained  banks  are 
decked  with  gay  flowers  in  lavish  abundance,  and 
meadow  patches  of  grasses  shoulder-high,  suggestive 
of  regions  much  farther  south. 

The  following  plants  and  a  few  doubtful  species  not 
yet  determined  were  collected  here :  — 


As-pidium  fragransy  Sw. 
Woodsia  ilvensis,  (L.),  R.  Br. 
Eriophorum  capitatuvty  Hos. 
Carex  vulgaris y  (Fries),  Willd.,  var. 

alpina. 
Lloydia  serotina,  (Sweet),  Reichenb. 
Tofieldia  coccinea,  Richards. 
Betula  nana,  L. 
Alnus  viridis,  DC. 
Polygonum  alpinum.  All. 
Arenaria  lateriflora,  L. 
Stellaria  longipes,  Goldie. 
Silene  acaulis,  L. 
Anemone  narcissiflora,  L. 

"        parviflora,  Michx. 
Caltha  palustris,  L.,  var.  asarifolia, 

Rothr. 
Corydalis  pauciflora. 
Draha  alpina,  L. 
"     incana,  L. 
Eutrema  arenicola,  Richards. 
Saxifraga  nivalis,  L. 

"        hieracifolia,  Waldst.  ^ 

Kit. 
Rubus  Chamamorus,  L. 

"      arcticus,  L. 
PoUntilla  nivea,  L. 
Dryas  octopetala,  L. 
Oxytropis  podocarpa.  Gray. 


Astragalus  alpinus,  L. 

"       frigidus.  Gray,  var,  lit^ 

toralis. 
Lathyrus  maritimus,  Bigel. 
Epilobium  latifolium,  L. 
Cassiope  tetragone,  (D.  Don.),  Desv. 
Andromeda  polifolia,  L. 
Loiseleuria  procumbens,  Desv. 
Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L. 
Arctostaphylos  alpina,  Sprang, 
Ledum  palustre,  L. 
Diapensia  lapponica,  L. 
Arrneria  vulgaris,  Willd. 
Primula  borealis,  Duby. 
Polemonium  cceruleum,  L. 
Mertensia  paniculata,  Desv. 
Pedicularis  sudetica,  Willd. 

"       iuphrasioides,  Stev. 
"       Langsdorfli,  Fisch.,  var. 

lanata.  Gray. 
Pinguicula  villosa,  L. 
Linncea  borealis,  Gronov. 
Valeriana  capitata,  (Pall.),  Willd. 
Saussurea  alpina,  DC. 
Nardosmia  frigida.  Hook. 
Senecio  frigidus,  Less. 

"    palustris.  Hook. 
Arnica  angustifolia,  Vahl. 
Artemisia  arctica,  Bess. 
Matricaria  inodora,  L, 


[264] 


Appendix 


GOLOFNIN  BAY 

The  tundra  flora  on  the  west  side  of  Golofnin  Bay 
is  remarkably  close  and  luxuriant,  covering  almost 
every  foot  of  the  ground,  the  hills  as  well  as  the 
valleys,  while  the  sandy  beach  and  a  bank  of  coarsely 
stratified  moraine  material  a  few  yards  back  from  the 
beach  were  blooming  like  a  garden  with  Lathyrus 
maritimuSy  Iris  sibirica,  Polemonium  cceruleum,  etc., 
diversified  with  clumps  and  patches  of  Elymus  arena-- 
rius,  Alnus  viridis,  and  Abies  alba. 

This  is  one  of  the  few  points  on  the  east  side  of 
Bering  Sea  where  trees  closely  approach  the  shore. 
The  white  spruce  occurs  here  in  small  groves  or 
thickets  of  well-developed,  erect  trees  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  high,  near  the  level  of  the  sea,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  six  or  eight  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  bay,  and  gradually  becomes  irregular  and 
dwarfed  as  it  approaches  the  shore.  Here  a  number  of 
dead  andfdying  specimens  were  observed,  indicating 
that  conditions  of  soil,  climate,  and  relations  to  other 
plants  were  becoming  more  unfavorable,  and  causing 
the  tree-line  to  recede  from  the  coast. 

The  following  collection  was  made  here  July  lo:  — 

Aspidium  spinulosum,  Sw.  Ruhus  arcticusy  L. 

Elymus  arenarius,  L.  Epilobium  latifolium^  L. 

Poa  trivialisy  L.  Vaccinium  Vitis-Idaa^  L. 

Carex  vesicaria,  L.,  var.  alpigena,  Trientalis  europcsa,  L.,  var.  arctica^ 

Fries.  Ledeb. 

Lloydia  serotinaj  (Sweet),  Reichenb.  Gentiana  glauca,  Pall. 

Iris  sihiricay  L.  Polemonium  cceruleum,  L. 

Arenaria  peploides^  L.  Pinguicula  villosa,  L. 

Eutrema  arenicola,  Hook.  Chrysanthemum  arcticum,  L. 

Spiraa  betulifoliat  Pall.  Artemisia  Tilesiiy  Ledeb. 

KOTZEBUE  SOUND 
The  flora  of  the  region  about  the  head  of  Kotzebue 
Sound  is  hardly  less  luxuriant  and  rich  in  species 

[  265  ] 


Appendix 


than  that  of  other  points,  visited  by  the  Corwin, 
lying  several  degrees  farther  south.  Fine  nutritious 
grasses  suitable  for  the  fattening  of  cattle,  and  from 
two  to  six  feet  high,  are  not  of  rare  occurrence  on 
meadows  of  considerable  extent,  and  along  stream- 
banks  wherever  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  tundra 
have  been  drained  off,  while  in  similar  localities  the 
most  showy  of  the  arctic  plants  bloom  in  all  their 
freshness  and  beauty,  manifesting  no  sign  of  frost,  or 
unfavorable  conditions  of  any  kind  whatever. 

A  striking  result  of  the  airing  and  draining  of  the 
boggy  tundra  soil  is  shown  on  the  ice-bluffs  around 
Eschscholtz  Bay,  where  it  has  been  undermined  by 
the  melting  of  the  ice  on  which  it  rests.  In  falling 
down  the  face  of  the  ice-wall  it  is  well  shaken  and 
rolled  before  it  again  comes  to  rest  on  terraced  or 
gently  sloping  portions  of  the  wall.  The  original 
vegetation  of  the  tundra  is  thus  destroyed,  and  tall 
grasses  spring  up  on  the  fresh,  mellow  ground  as  it 
accumulates  from  time  to  time,  growing  lush  and 
rank,  though  in  many  places  that  we  noted  these  new 
soil-beds  are  not  more  than  a  foot  in  depth,  and  lie 
on  the  solid  ice. 

At  the  time  of  our  last  visit  to  this  interesting  re- 
gion, about  the  middle  of  September,  the  weather  was 
still  fine,  suggesting  the  Indian  summer  of  the  Western 
States.  The  tundra  glowed  in  the  mellow  sunshine 
with  the  colors  of  the  ripe  foliage  of  vaccinium,  em- 
petrum,  arctostaphylos,  and  dwarf  birch;  red,  purple, 
and  yellow,  in  pure  bright  tones,  while  the  berries, 
hardly  less  beautiful,  were  scattered  everywhere  as  if 
they  had  been  sown  broadcast  with  a  lavish  hand,  the 
whole  blending  harmoniously  with  the  neutral  tints  of 
the  furred  bed  of  lichens  and  mosses  on  which  the 
bright  leaves  and  berries  were  painted. 

On  several  points  about  the  sound  the  white  spruce 

[  266  ] 


Appendix 


occurs  in  small,  compact  groves  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  shore;  and  pyrola,  which  belongs  to  wooded 
regions,  is  abundant  where  no  trees  are  now  in  sight, 
tending  to  show  that  areas  of  considerable  extent, 
now  treeless,  were  once  forested. 
The  plants  collected  are :  — 

Luzula  hyperborea^  R.  Br.  Arctostaphylos  alpina,  Sprang. 

Allium  schcenoprasunif  L.  Cassiope  tetragone,  (D.  Don),  Desv. 

Salix  Polaris  J  Wahlenb.  Ledum  palustre,  L. 

Polygonum  viviparum^  L.  Faccinium  Fitis-Idaa,  L. 

Stellaria  longipesy  Goldie.  Faccinium  uliginosum^  L.,  var.  muC' 
Cerastium  alpinum,  L.,  var.  Behrin-      ronata.  Herder. 

gianum,  Kegel.  Armeria  vulgaris^  Willd.,  var.  arctica, 

Papaver  nudicauU,  L.  Cham.                                             i 

Saxifraga  tricuspidata^  Retz.  Trientalis  europaaj'X'.y  var.  arctica, 

Potentilla  anserina,  L.,  var.  Ledeb. 

**      biflora,  Willd.  Mertensia  maritimay  L.  (S.  F.  Gray), 

**      fruticosa,  L.  Desv. 

Lupinus  arcticuSy  Watson.  Castilleia  pallida^  Kunth. 

Hedysarum  boreale,  Nutt.  Pedicularis  sudetica,  Willd. 

Empetrum  nigrum^  L.  ^             _  "         verticillata,  L. 
Pyrola  roiundifolia,  L.,  var.  pumila,  Galium  boreale,  L. 

Hook.  Senecio  palustris.  Hook. 

CAPE  THOMPSON 

The  Cape  Thompson  flora  is  richer  In  species  and 
individuals  than  that  of  any  other  point  on  the 
Arctic  shores  we  have  seen,  owing  no  doubt  mainly  to 
the  better  drainage  of  the  ground  through  the  fissured 
frost-cracked  limestone,  which  herabouts  is  the 
principal  rock.  .  '  •      i  ^;^      i 

Where;the  hill-slopes  are  steepest  the  rock  frequently 
occurs  in  loose,  angular  masses,  and  is  entirely  bare  of 
soil.  But  between  these  barren  slopes  there  are  valleys 
where  the  showiest  of  the  arctic  plants  bloom  in  rich 
profusion  and  variety,  forming  brilliant  masses  of 
color  —  purple,  yellow,  and  blue  —  where  certain 
species  form  beds  of  considerable  size,  almost  to  the 
exclusion  of  others. 

[267] 


Appendix 


The  following  list  was  obtained  here  July  19:  — 


CystopUris  fragilisy  (L.),  Bernh. 
Trisetum  subspicatum,  Beauv.,  var. 

molUy  Gray. 
Glyceria  — 

Festuca  sativa  (?)  [F.  ovina^  L.?] 
Carex  rarifiora,  Wahlenb. 

"    vulgaris^  Fries,  var.  alpina, 

(C.  rigiddy  Good.) 
Salix  polaris,  Wahlenb.,^  and  two 

other  species  undetermined. 
Polygonum  Bistorta,  L. 
Rumex  crispus^  L. 
Cerastium  alpinumy  L.,  var.  Behr- 

ingtanum,  Regel. 
Silene  acaulisy  L. 
Arenaria  vernaj    L.,    var.    rubella. 

Hook.  f. 
Arenaria  arctica,  Stev.  ^ 
Stellaria  longipes,  Goldie. 
Anemone  narcissiflora^  L. 
"       multifiday  Poir. 
"       parvifioray  Michx. 
**       parvifioray   Michx.,   vari- 
ety. 
Ranunculus  afiinisy  R.  Br, 
Caltha  asarifolidy  DC. 
Papaver  nudicauUy  L. 
Draba  stellata,  J  acq.,  vslt.  nivalis, 

Regel. 
Draba  incanay  L, 
Cardamine  pratensisy  L. 
Cheiranthus  pygmauSy  AdamSw 
Pedicularis  capitata,  Adams 
Geum  glaciaUy  Fisch. 
Nardosmia  corymbosa,  Hook. 


Erigeron  Muirii,  Gray,  n.  sp. 
Parry  a  nudicaulis,  (Boiss.),  Regel, 

var.  aspera,  Regel. 
Boykinia  Richardsoni,  Gray. 
Saxifraga  tricuspidata,  Retz. 
cernua,  L. 

flagellarisy  Willd.  , 

davuricay  Willd.     , 
punctata,  L. 
nivalisy  L. 
Dryas  octopetalay  L. 
Potentilla  bifloray  Willd. 

"      niveay  L. 
Hedysarum  boreale,  Nutt. 
Oxytropis  podocarpa.  Gray. 
Epilobium  latifolium,  L. 
Cassiope  tetragonCy  (D.  Don.),  Desv. 
Vaccinium  uliginosum,    L.,    var. 

mucronata.  Herder. 
Vaccinium  Fitis-Idaay  L. 
Dodecatheon  Meadia,  L.yy&T.  frigid 

dum,  Gray. 
Androsace  chamcejasmey  Willd. 
Phlox  sibirica,  L. 
Polemonium  humile,  Willd. 

"         ccsruleum,  L. 
Myosotis  sylvaticoy   var.    alpestris, 

Hoffm. 
Eritrichium  nanumy  Schrad.,  var. 

arctioides. 
Taraxacum  palusire,  DC. 
Senecio  frigiduSy  Less. 
Artemisia  glomerata,  Ledeb. 

"  tomentosa     [tomeniella, 

Trautv.?] 


CAPE  PRINCE  OF  WALES 
At  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  we  obtained 


Tofieldia  coccinea,  Richards. 
Loiseleuria  procumbens,  Desv. 
Andromeda  polifolia,  h.,  forma  arc- 
tica. 
Vaccinium  Vitis-Idaa,  L. 


Armeria  arctica,  (Wallr.),  Stev. 
Androsace  chamcejasme,  Willd. 
Taraxacum  palustrey  DC. 


268 


Appendix 


TWENTY  MILES  EAST  OF  CAPE  LISBURNE 

Lychnis  apetala^  L.  Primula  borealisy  Duby. 

Anemone  narcissiflora^  L.,  var.  Androsace  chamcejasmef  Willd. 

Draba  hirta,  L.  Phlox  sibirica,  L. 

Saxifraga  Eschscholtzii,  Sterab.  Geum  glaciale,  Fisch. 

"        flagellarisy  Willd.  Erigeron  uniflorus,  L. 

Chrysosplenium  alternifolium,  L.  Artemisia  glomerataf  Ledeb.    ' 
Potentilla  nivea,  L. 

*'      biflora,  Willd. 
Oxytropis  campestris,  DC. 

,  CAPE  WANKAREM,  SIBERIA 
Near  Cape  Wankarem,  August  7  and  8,  we  col- 
lected :  — 

Elymus  arenarius^  L.  Saxifraga  cernua^  L. 

Alopecurus  alpinus,  Sm.  "        stellaris^  L.,  var.  comosa 

Poa  arctica,  R.  Br.  "        rivularisy  L.,  var.  hyper- 

Calamagrostis  deschampsioides^  Trin.  borea,  Hook. 

Luzula  hyperborea,  R.  Br.  Polemonium  coeruleum^  L. 

"    spicata,  (DC),  Desv.  Pedicularis  Langsdorfi,  Fisch. 

Lychnis  apetala^  L.  Nardosmia  frigida,  Hook. 

Claytonia  virginica^  L.  Chrysanthemum  arcticum^  L. 

Ranunculus  pygmceus,  Wahlenb.  Senecio  frigidusy  Less. 

Chrysosplenium  alternifolium^  L.  Artemisia  vulgaris,  var.  Tilesiif 

Ledeb. 

PLOVER  BAY,  SIBERIA 
The  mountains  bounding  the  glacial  fiord  called 
Plover  Bay,  though  beautiful  in  their  combinations 
of  curves  and  peaks  as  they  are  seen  touching  each 
other  delicately  and  rising  in  bold,  picturesque  groups, 
are  nevertheless  severely  desolate-looking  from  the 
absence  of  trees  and  large  shrubs,  and  indeed  of  vege- 
tation of  any  kind  dense  enough  to  give  color  in  telling 
quantities,  or  to  soften  the  harsh  rockiness  of  the 
steepest  portions  of  the  walls.  Even  the  valleys  open- 
ing back  from  the  water  here  and  there  on  either  side 
are  mostly  bare  as  seen  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  two, 
and  show  only  a  faint  tinge  of  green,  derived  from 
dwarf  willows,  heathworts,  and  sedges  chiefly. 

[269 1 


Appendix 


The  most  interesting  of  the  plants  found  here  are 
Rhododendron  kamtschaticum.  Pall.,  and  the  hand- 
some blue-flowered  Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  L.,  both  of 
which  are  abundant. 

The  following  were  collected  July  12  and 
August  26:  — 

Arenaria  macrocarpa,  Pursh.  ^    Dryas  octopetalay  L. 
AconitumNapgllus,L.,v3iT.delphini'   Oxytropis  podocarpa,  Gray. 

foliuniy  Ser.  Rhododendron  kamtschaticum,  Pall. 

Anemone  narcissiflora,  L.  Cassiope  tetragona,  (D.  Don.),  Desv. 

Draba  alpina,  L.  Diapensia  lapponica^  L. 

Parry  a  Ermanni,  Ledeb.  Gentiana  glauca^VaXX. 

Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  L.  Geum  glaciaU,  Fisch. 

"         punctata,  L. 

"         caspitostty  L. 

HERALD  ISLAND 
On  Herald  Island  the  common  polar  cryptogamous 
vegetation  is  well  represented  and  developed.  So  also 
are  the  flowering  plants,  almost  the  entire  surface  of 
the  island,  with  the  exception  of  the  sheer,  crumbling 
bluffs  along  the  shores,  being  quite  tellingly  dotted 
and  tufted  with  characteristic  species.  The  follow- 
ing list  ^  was  obtained :  — 

Gymnandra  Stelleriy  Cham.  &  Saxifraga  silenifloray  (Hook.), 

Schlecht.       ^  Sternb. 

Alopecurus  alpinus,  Sm.  Saxifraga  bronchialis,  L. 

Luzula  hyperborea,  R.  Br.  "         stellarisy  L.,  var.  comosa, 

Salix  polaris,  Wahlenb.  Polr. 
Stellaria  longipes,  Goldie,  var.  Ed-    Saxifraga  rivularisy  L.,  var.  hyper- 

wardsii,  T.  &  G.  borea  Hook. 

Papa'jer  nudicauUy  L.  Saxifraga    hieracifolia,    Waldst.  & 

Draba  alpina,  L.  Kit. 

Saxifraga  punctata,  L.  Potentilla  frigida,  Vill.  ? 

"         serpyllifolia,  Pursh.  Senecio  frigidus.  Less. 

^  Berthold  Seemann,  botanist  of  H.  M.  S.  Herald  in  1849,  reported  the 
finding  of  eight  plants  on  a  width  of  thirty  feet  of  shore,  which,  he  says, 
"was  the  whole  extent  we  had  to  walk  over."  The  plants  were  the  fol- 
lowing; Artemisia  borealis,  Cochleria  fene strata,  Saxifraga  lamentiniana, 
Poa  arctica,  and  another  undetermined  grass,  Hepatica,  a  moss,  and  red 
lichen  covering  the  rocks.   [Editor.) 

I  270  ] 


Appendix 


WRANGELL  LAND 

Our  stay  on  the  one  point  of  Wrangell  Land  that  we 
touched  was  far  too  short  to  admit  of  making  any- 
thing like  as  full  a  collection  of  the  plants  of  so  inter- 
esting a  region  as  was  desirable.  We  found  the  rock 
formation  where  we  landed  and  for  some  distance 
along  the  coast  to  the  eastward  and  westward  to  be 
a  close-grained  clay  slate,  cleaving  freely  into  thin 
flakes,  with  here  and  there  a  few  compact,  meta- 
morphic  masses  that  rise  above  the  general  surface. 
Where  it  is  exposed  along  the  shore  bluffs  and  kept 
bare  of  vegetation  and  soil  by  the  action  of  the  ocean, 
ice,  and  heavy  snow-drifts,  the  rock  presents  a  surface 
about  as  black  as  coal,  without  even  a  moss  or  lichen 
to  enliven  its  somber  gloom.  But  when  this  dreary 
barrier  is  passed  the  surface  features  of  the  country  in 
general  are  found  to  be  finely  moulded  and  collocated, 
smooth  valleys,  wide  as  compared  with  their  depth, 
trending  back  from  the  shore  to  a  range  of  mountains 
that  appear  blue  in  the  distance,  and  round-topped 
hills,  with  their  side  curves  finely  drawn,  touching  and 
blending  in  beautiful  groups,  while  scarce  a  single 
rock-pile  is  seen  or  sheer-walled  bluff  to  break  the 
general  smoothness. 

The  soil  has  evidently  been  derived  mostly  from  the 
underlying  slates,  though  a  few  fragmentary  wasting 
moraines  were  observed,  containing  traveled  boulders 
of  quartz  and  granite  which  doubtless  were  brought 
from  the  mountains  of  the  interior  by  glaciers  that 
have  recently  vanished — so  recently  that  the  outlines 
and  sculptured  hollows  and  grooves  of  the  mountains 
have  not  as  yet  suffered  sufficient  post-glacial  denu- 
dation to  mar  appreciably  their  glacial  characters. 

The  banks  of  the  river  at  the  mouth  of  which  we 
landed  presented  a  striking  contrast  as  to  vegetation 

[  271  1 


Appendix 


to  that  of  any  other  stream  we  had  seen  in  the  Arctic 
regions.  The  tundra  vegetation  was  not  wholly  ab- 
sent, but  the  mosses  and  lichens  of  which  it  is  else- 
where composed  are  about  as  feebly  developed  as 
possible,  and  instead  of  forming  a  continuous  covering 
they  occur  in  small  separate  tufts,  leaving  the  ground 
between  them  raw  and  bare  as  that  of  a  newly 
ploughed  field.  The  phanerogamous  plants,  both  on 
the  lowest  grounds  and  on  the  slopes  and  hilltops  as 
far  as  seen,  were  in  the  same  severely  repressed  condi- 
tion, and  as  sparsely  planted  in  tufts  an  inch  or  two 
in  diameter,  with  from  one  to  three  feet  of  naked  soil 
between  them.  Some  portions  of  the  coast,  however, 
farther  south,  presented  a  greenish  hue  as  seen';^from 
the  ship  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles,  owing" no 
doubt  to  vegetation  growing  under  less  unfavorable 
conditions. 

From  an  area  of  about  half  a  square  mile  the  follow- 
ing plants  were  collected :  — - 

Gymnandra  Stelleri,  Cham.  &  Saxifraga  sUllaris,  L.,  var.  comosa, 

Schlecht.  Poir. 

Poa  arctica,  R.  Br.  Saxifraga      silenifloray       (Hook.), 

Aira  caspitosa,  L.,  var.  arctica.  Sternb. 

Alopecurus  alpinuSy  Sm.  Saxifraga    hieracifoliay   Waldst.    & 

Luzula  hyperboreoy  R.  Br.  Kit. 

Sullaria  longipes,  Goldie,  var.  Ed-   Saxifraga  rivularisy  L.,  var.  kypgr- 

wardsiiy  T.  &  G.  boreay  Hook. 

Cerastium  alpinum,  L.  Saxifraga  bronchialisy  L. 

Anemone  parviflora,  Michx.  "         serpyllifolia,  Pursh. 

Papaver  nudicauUy  L.  Potentilla  nivea,  L. 

Draba  alpina,  L.  "        frtgida,  VIll.?  * 

Cochlearia  officinalis^  L.  Armeria  macrocarpa,^  Pursh. 

Saxifraga  JlagellariSf  WiM,  "       vulgaris,  WiM. 

Artemisia  bore  alts  y  (Pall.),  Willd. 

Nardosmia  frigida.  Hook. 

Saussurea  monticola,  Richards. 

*  "  Potentilla  emarginata,  Pursh.  A  very  dwarf  form  of  this  species  from 
Wrangell  Land  was  inadvertently  named  Potentilla  frigida  in  the  list  of 
Muir's  collection."  (Note  by  Asa  Gray  in  House  Executive  Document 
No.  44  (1884-85),  p.  191.)   [Editor.] 


Index 


Index 


Akutan,  island  and  mountain,  230 
and  note. 

Akutan  Pass,  4,  5. 

Alaska  Commercial  Company,  13, 
18-21,  81,  113. 

Alaska  Mining  Company,  229. 

Aleutian  Islands,  5;  geology  of,  7-9, 
241-46;  animal  life,  9,  10;  plant 
life,  10,  11;  trees,  11,  12;  grazing 
and  agriculture,  12;  population, 

12,  13- 

Aleuts,  fuel,  12,  14;  civilization, 
12;  hunting,  13,  18-21;  death- 
rate,  13;  huts,  13,  14,  230;  intoxi- 
cating drink,  14,  15,  19;  thriftless- 
ness,  15;  religion,  16,  17;  drunk- 
enness, 230;  dancing,  230. 

Alexey,  113  note. 

Anadir  Gulf,  24. 

Aneguin,  113  note. 

Asia,  land  communication  with 
America,  66,  67. 

Barabaras,  13,  14. 

Bear,  polar,  156,  160-65,  I70>  ^77- 

Beluga,  134-36. 

Belvedere,  the  whaler,  143-45,  184, 
198. 

Bering  Sea,  cruise  in,  18-37,  51-121, 
198-220,  222-29;  a  glacial  exca- 
vation, 53,  257,  258. 

Bering  Strait,  37,  53,  257,  258. 

Birds,  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  9, 
10;  a  small  bird  comes  aboard, 
79;  on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  80;  at 
East  Cape,  103;  of  the  Alaskan 
tundra,  115,  116;  at  Kotzebue 
Sound,  123,  124;  of  Herald  Is- 
land, 155;  of  Wrangell  Land,  170 
note;  of  the  Diomede  Islands, 
199;  sea-birds  as  guides  to  man, 
199;  at  Plover  Bay,  205. 

Blossom  Shoals,  141. 


Buckland  River,  112  and  note,  227. 
Butterflies,  124. 

Canoes,  skin,  61;  at  Golofnin  Bay, 
118. 

Cape  Blossom,  123,  126. 

Cape  Espenberg,  121  note. 

Cape  Krusenstern,  126. 

Cape  Lisbume,  134,  137,  139,  145, 
149. 

Cape  North,  254. 

Cape  Onman,  94. 

Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  1 19-21,  134; 
glaciation,  253,  256;  flora,  268. 

Cape  Serdzekamen,  31,  37;  glacia- 
tion, 255. 

Cape  Thompson,  131-33;  flora,  267, 
268. 

Cape  Wankarem,  93,  94,  165;  glaci- 
ation, 254;  flora,  269. 

Cape  Yakan,  97. 

Caribou.   See  Reindeer. 

Chamisso  Island,  224. 

Chukchi  Joe,  31-34,  37-39,  43,  47, 
56,  105,  106,  108. 

Chukchis,  smoking,  29;  of  Marcus 
Bay,  30-34;  story  of  the  loss  of 
the  Vigilant,  30,  31,  34;  huts,  32, 
33,  42,  100,  loi,  209;  touches  of 
nature,  33,  34;  of  St.  Lawrence 
Bay,.34, 35, 53-61;  trading,  35, 54, 
55,  218;  dignity  and  fortitude  in 
hunger,  35;  at  Tapkan,  37-43; 
manners  and  customs,  42,  43; 
dog-driver  aboard  the  Corwin, 
46,  47,  99;  temperance  talk,  53, 
54;  dress  and  habits,  56;  sensi- 
tive to  ridicule,  57;  a  reindeer- 
owner,  57-60,  88;  women  and 
children,  58;  eating  whale  skin, 
59;  passenger  on  the  Corwin,  60, 
65,  69,  89,  90;  of  Plover  Bay,  74, 
205-16;    a   half-breed   girl,    74; 


[  vs  ] 


Index 


about  Metchigme  Bay,  88-91;  a 
case  of  insanity,  89,  90;  pho- 
tographed, 91;  at  Cape  Wan- 
karem,  94-98;  story  of  finding  a 
wrecked  whaler,  94-97;  nine 
settlements,  98;  kindness,  98;  at 
East  Cape,  99-103;  cemeteries, 
102,  103;  at  Cape  Chaplin,  105; 
traders  from  Cape  Yakan,  lai; 
and  Wrangell  Land,  171,  172; 
reindeer-herders  at  Plover  Bay, 
205-16;  psychology  and  physical 
characteristics,  210. 

Church,  Russian,  16,  17. 

Coal,  138,  14s,  146,  149,  197,  198. 

Cod,  5. 

Colville  River,  112  and  note,  202, 
203. 

Cook's  Harbor,  5. 

Coral,  the  bark,  185,  191. 

Corwin,  Thomas,  U.S.S.,  broken 
rudder,  45,  46;  in  a  gale,  55;  loses 
ice-breaker,  221,  222;  rudder 
chain  parts,  222. 

Daniel  Webster,  the  whaler,  144, 

149,  184-91. 
De  Long,  Commander  George  W., 

quoted,  177,  178. 
Diomede  Islands,  36,  49,  50,  dS^  91, 

92,  105,  198,  199,  217-20;  glacia- 

tion,  248. 
Dog-teams,  38-40;  drawing  canoes, 

146,  147. 
Dogs,  of  the  Chukchis,  39,  40,  42, 

45  48,49. 
Duck,  eider,  51,  123,  124. 
Dutch  Harbor,  6  and  note. 

East  Cape,  50;  glaciation  at,  92, 
253,  254;  landing  at,  97-104. 

Elephant  Point,  224-27. 

Empetrum,  14. 

Eschscholtz  Bay,  224-28,  266. 

Eskimos,  on  St.  Lawrence  Island, 
24-29,  56,  68-71,  107,  108;  trad- 
ing, 25,  26,  36,  68-70,  218,  219; 
and  rum,  25,  26,  29;  appearance 
and  manners,  26-28;  clothing,  27, 
28,  56;  smoking,  28,  29;  taken 


aboard,  30;  on  Diomede  Islands, 
36,  217-19;  villages  and  huts,  36, 
217,  218;  babies,  69-71;  eating 
walrus  heads,  70;  boys,  71;  mor- 
tality, 85,  86,  107-111;  of  King 
Island,  119,  120;  winter  and  sum- 
mer huts  on  King  Island,  119, 
120;  King  Island  canoes,  120; 
at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  120, 
121;  contraband  trade  with,  121, 
122;  huts  at  Kotzebue  Sound, 
122,  123,  126,  127,  129-31;  at 
Point  Hope,  131,  132;  killing 
beluga,  134-36;  killing  right 
whales,  136;  near  Icy  Cape,  139, 
141,  143;  near  Cape  Lisburne, 
145-47;  canoes  drawn  by  dogs, 
146,  147;  hunting  polar  bears, 
162;  decoration  of  grave,  163;' 
at  Point  Barrow,  186,  188-90, 
202;  as  wreckers,  188-90;  at 
Point  Belcher,  191. 

Fairway  Rock,  36  note,  119,  198; 
glaciation,  248. 

Fish,  5. 

Flora,  259-72. 

Flowers,  of  Unalaska,  10,  11,  260, 
261;  of  Plover  Bay,  88,  269,  270; 
at  East  Cape,  loi;  of  St.  Law- 
rence Island,  107,  263;  of  the 
tundra  at  St.  Michael,  116,  263, 
264;  at  Golofnin  Bay,  118,  265; 
at  Kotzebue  Sound,  125,  265-67; 
at  Cape  Thompson,  132,  133, 
267,  268;  at  Icy  Cape,  141;  on 
Herald  Island,  154,  270;  of  Wran- 
gell Land,  171,  272.  See  also 
Flora. 

Fossils,  125,  146,  224,  225. 

Fowler,  O.  S.,  the  schooner,  121  and 
note,  126. 

Fox,  white,  155  and  note,  170. 

Francis  Palmer,  the  whaler,  55. 

Fur  trade,  Aleutian  Islands,  13,  15; 
Pribilof  Islands,  18-21;  Yukon 
River,  82,  83,  113. 


Geese,  wild,  123,  124. 

Gessler,  Coxswain,  47  and  note. 


[276] 


Index 


Glaciation,  on  Unalaska,  6-9;  in 
the  Pribilofs,  ai,  22,  246,  247;  on 
the  Siberian  coast,  24,  50,  62,  63, 
78,  91,  251-55;  on  the  Diomede 
Islands,  49,  50,  248;  at  St.  Law- 
rence Bay,  53;  in  feering  Sea  and 
Strait,  53;  on  St.  Lawrence  Is- 
land, 74,  85,  107,  247,  2a8;  at 
Plover  Bay,  76,  78,  87,  206,  252, 
253;  at  Metchigme  Bay,  91; 
about  East  Cape,  92,  99-103,  253, 
254;  at  Golofnin  Bay,  118,  119, 
253)  256;  at  Sledge  Island,  119, 
248;  at  Cape  Thompson,  133; 
near  Cape  Lisburne,  137;  on 
Herald  Island,  152,  153,  248-50; 
of  the  Arctic  and  Sub-Arctic  re- 
gions visited  during  the  cruise, 

235-58- 

Glaciers,  of  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
9,  231,  242-46;  of  Plover  Bay, 
87;  fossil  fragments,  224-27;  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  236,  237;  of 
British  Columbia  and  south- 
eastern Alaska,  237;  reaching  the 
sea,  238,  239. 

Gold,  114,  228,  229. 

Golden  Fleece,  the  schooner,  201, 
204. 

Golofnin  Bay,  1 17-19,  228,  229; 
glaciation,  253,  256;  flora,  265. 

Gull,  burgomaster,  124. 

Gulls,  200. 

Handy,  R.  B.,  the  schooner,  142. 
Helen  Mar,  the  whaler,  49. 
Herald  Island,^  148-58,   177,    178, 

221;    glaciation,    248-50;    flora, 

270. 
Herring,  84. 
Herring,  Lieut.,  47;  his  report  of 

search  for  the  Vigilant,  93-97. 
Hidalgo,  the  whaler,  55,  131. 
"Hole,  the,"  158. 
Hooper,  Capt.  Calvin  L.,  26,  33,  37, 

46,  47,  54,  56,  58,  69,  108,  126, 

142,  154,  156,  173,  222;  quoted, 

76,  77,  151  note. 
Hotham  Inlet,  126. 
Hutli,  238  and  note. 


Ice,  crystals  on  rocks,  104;  curious 

formations,  224-28. 
Ice,  ocean,  first  view,  22. 
Ice,  pack,  the  Corwin  in,  44-49,  72, 

73,  n.  139,  140,  148,  150,  I59> 
163-68;  search  party  on,  93. 

Ice,  shore,  rough  travel  over,  37,  38. 

Ice-blink,  138. 

Icy  Cape,  138-41,  149,  184. 

Iliuliuk,  6  and  note,  13,  14.  See 
also  Unalaska. 

Indians,  of  the  Yukon  country,  83, 
84;  shamans  at  St.  Michael,  113; 
kayaks,  116;  at  Golofnin  Bay, 
117,  118;  canoes,  118;  trading  at 
Kotzebue  Sound,  129,  130. 

Inland  River,  112,  202,  203. 

International  Polar  Expedition, 
201-04. 

Ivory,  fossil,  125. 

Jaroochah,  34,  53-55,  57-59. 
Jeannette,  U.  S.  S.,  97, 98, 113, 156, 

170,  174. 
Joe.   See  Chukchi  Joe. 

Kalekta  Point,  6. 
Kayaks,  116. 
Kellett,  Sir  Henry,  249. 
Kelly,  Capt.,  78. 
King  Island,  119,  120,  248. 
Kittiwake,  148. 
Kiwalik  River,  122,  123. 
Koliuchin,  98. 
Koliuchin  Island,  46. 
Konkarpo,  94. 

Kotzebue  Sound,  122-25,  224-28; 
glaciation,  253, 256;  flora,  265-67. 
Kuuk  River,  227  and  note. 
Kvass,  14,  15,  19. 

Le  Conte  Glacier,  238  note. 
Lolita,  the  ship,  67,  68,  73. 

Makushin,  volcano,  231,    242    and 

note. 
Marcus  Bay,  30,  105,  106,  108,  217. 
Metchigme  Bay,  8SP^i. 
Millard,  Capt.  M.  V.  B.,  76  note, 

n.  78. 


[  277  ] 


Index 


Mirage,  8l,  143,  145. 

Mt.  Akutan,  230  and  note. 

Mt.  Makushin,  231,  242  and  note. 

Mt.  Rainier,  237. 

Mt.  Shasta,  237. 

Mount  Wollaston,  the  whaler,  93. 

Muir  Glacier,  239. 

Murdoch,  John,  190  note,  201  note, 

202  note. 
Murres,  155. 

Nelson,  Edward  W.,  91,  117,  155, 
173,  205;  ethnological  studies, 
10CMD3,  108,  no,  120,  122,  123, 
140;  his  account  of  the  foxes  of 
Herald  Island,  155  note. 

Nestor,  Bishop,  16. 

Noatak  River,  112  note. 

Northern  Light,  the  bark,  141-43. 

Norton  Sound,  22;  mirage  in,  81. 

Omniscot,  Chukchi  reindeer-owner, 

57-60,  88-90. 
Oncarima,  94. 
Otter,  sea,  9,  13,  20. 
Otter  Island,  21. 
Owen,  Capt.,  144,  184. 
Owl,  an  Arctic,  103. 

Pittle  Keg,  97  and  note. 

Plover  Bay,  30,  74-78,  86-88,  201, 

.    223;  glaciation,  252,  253;  flora, 

269,  270. 
Point   Barrow,    186,    195-97,    201; 

International    Polar    Expedition 

to,  201-04. 
Point  Belcher,  144,  185,  191,  192- 

95- 
Point  Hope,  131,  132,  147. 
Pope,  Thomas,  the  whaler,  76-78. 
Post-Ofhce  Point,  148,  158. 
Pribilof  Islands,  18-22,  246,  247. 
Priest,  a  Russian,  16. 
Prospectors,  114, 118,  119,228,229. 
Providence  Bay,  75  note. 
Ptarmigan,  115. 

Rainbow,  the  whaler,  30. 
Ray,  Lieut.  P.  H.,  201  and  note, 
203,  204. 


Reindeer,  owned  by  Chukchis,  57, 
58, 128, 129,  205-16;  wild  herds  in 
Alaska,  127,  128;  wild  herds  in 
Siberia,  206. 

Reynolds,  Lieut.,  47,  121,  122. 

Rodgers,  U.S.S.,  223  and  note. 

Rosse,  Dr.  Irving  C,  75,  114. 

St.  George  Island,  18-2Z. 

St.  Lawrence  Bay,  34, 35 ;  at  anchor 

in,  52-61. 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  24-29,  31,  35, 

65-74,  85,  86;  descriptions,  106- 

08;    dead    villages    on,    108-I1; 

glaciation,  247,  248;  flora,  262, 

263. 
St.  Matthew  Island,  24. 
St.  Michael,  78,  81-84,  1 12-17,  228, 

229;  flora,  263,  264. 
St.  Paul,  island  and  village  of,  18- 

22. 
St.  Paul,  the  steamer,  no,  Ii3. 
Salmon,  84,  117. 

Saw  Francisco  Bulletin^  jGy  78  note. 
Sappho,  the  whaler,  143. 
Sea  Breeze,  the  whaling  bark,  131, 

143,  178. 
Seal,  a  large,  51. 
Seal,  fur,  industry,  15,  18,  19-21; 

habits,  19,  20. 
Seal,  saddle-back,  23,  24. 
Seal,  white,  22,  23. 
Shamanism,  17. 
Sheshalek,  126. 
Shumagin  Islands,  21. 
Siberia,   first   sight,   24;   exploring 

coast  of,  30  et  seq. 
Sierra  Nevada,  glaciers,  236,  237. 
Sinaru,  185  note. 
Sledge  Island,  119,  248. 
Spermophile,  170  and  note. 
Spring,  beginning  of,  73 . 
Starbuck,  Alexander,  192. 
Sun,  atmospheric  effects,  145,  147, 

148;  midnight,  199,  200. 
Sunarnara,  185. 

Tapkan,  39-43,  92,  93,  99- 
Temperature,  of  air  and  water,  80, 
81,  84. 


[    278 


Index 


Thomas  Pope,  the  whaler,  76-78. 
Trees,  261,  262,  265-67. 
Tundra,  115,  116. 

Unalaska,  arrival  at,  3-6;  animal 
and  plant  life,  10,  11;  trees,  11, 12; 
grazing  and  agriculture,  12;  pop- 
ulation, 12,  13;  the  priest's  house, 
16;  the  Russian  Church,  16;  stay 
at,  on  return  trip,  229,  230;  flora, 
260-62. 

Unga  Island,  21. 

Vega,  the  ship,  41,  97. 

Vigilant,  the  whaler,  30,  31,  34;  re- 
port of  party  in  search  of,  93-98. 

Volcanoes  and  volcanic  remains,  in 
the  Aleutian  Islands,  7,  9,  230, 
231;  on  St.  Lawrence  Island,  107; 
near  St.  Michael,  114,  115;  at 
Kotzebue  Sound,  125. 

Walrus,  63, 64, 68,  70, 140, 142, 144. 

Weather,  78,  79. 

Western  Fur  and  Trading  Com- 


pany, 13,  21;  station  near  St. 
Michael,  82,  83,  112,  113. 

Whale,  bowhead,  192. 

Whale,  white,  134-36. 

Whalers,  lost  in  the  ice,  187-95. 

Whales,  eaten  by  Chukchis,  59; 
hunted  by  the  natives,  59,  64, 
136;  and  the  whalers,  144. 

Whaling,  191,  192. 

Wrangell,  Baron  Ferdinand  Petro- 
vitch  von,  129  note,  171-73. 

Wrangell  Land,  98;  first  sight  of, 
154;  approaching,  156-68;  land- 
ing on,  169;  exploration,  169-71, 
173-76;  Baron  Wrangell's  search 
for,  171-73;  flag  erected  on,  174; 
animal  life,  176,  177;  improb- 
ability of  De  Long's  having 
landed  upon,  177-80;  reasons  for 
leaving,  180-83;  failure  to  land  on 

♦  second  visit,  220-22;  the  Rod- 
gers  at,  223  and  note;  geology, 
250,  251,  271;  flora,  271,  272. 

Yukon  River,  fur  trade  of,  82,  83. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .   S   .  A 


